On April 24, Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense announced that two sites on the country’s northern border had come under what it described as a “sinful aggressive attack” using two explosive-laden drones launched from Iraq, according to the ministry.
The attack was one of the outcomes of growing activity by Iran-backed armed factions inside Iraqi territory, which has begun to pose a direct threat to the national security of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Over the past several weeks, several Gulf countries delivered diplomatic protest notes to Iraq over attacks launched from its territory.
The incidents have placed the Iraqi government in a dual political and security dilemma. On one hand, Baghdad seeks to strengthen its economic and diplomatic openness toward Gulf states. On the other, it struggles to fully control its borders and prevent Iraqi territory from being used as a launchpad for attacks against neighbors—putting Iraq’s international commitments under scrutiny.
A Gulf source at an embassy in Baghdad told Alhurra: “GCC states may move toward seeking compensation from Iraq. We may not limit ourselves to protest notes alone.”
Kuwaiti strategic and security expert Khaled Al-Salah told Alhurra: “Any repetition of such attacks will lead to more serious steps, including a gradual diplomatic escalation starting with formal protests and potentially reaching measures at the level of political representation.”
He added: “Gulf states may resort to international frameworks, including the U.N. Security Council, to establish legal responsibility and hold those involved accountable. The presence of Iran-aligned armed factions inside Iraq is a legitimate concern not only for Kuwait but for the entire region.”
Relations between Iraq and the GCC have gone through phases of estrangement and suspicion, followed by relative openness, and now the current crisis. After 2003, Gulf policy toward Iraq was characterized by caution due to growing Iranian influence within Iraqi state institutions, which shifted from a centralized authoritarian system to a decentralized democratic one.
However, a new strategy began to take shape in 2017, marked by visits from senior Iraqi officials, including former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr, to Riyadh and Kuwait. The aim was to re-anchor Iraq within its Arab environment based on national identity rather than sectarian affiliation.
By 2024, those efforts suffered a major setback with the involvement of Iraqi armed factions in a regional “unity of fronts” strategy. Iraq has since shifted from a state seeking positive neutrality to an open arena of confrontation, as armed groups adopted more aggressive rhetoric and began launching drone attacks against GCC targets, according to their own statements.
In response, Gulf capitals have moved into what they describe as a phase of “active defense” and legal internationalization, after previously advocating for constructive relations with Iraq. On March 4, 2026, Kuwait summoned the Iraqi chargé d’affaires to protest attacks launched by armed factions from Iraqi territory. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia followed with similar measures.
Writer and researcher Faisal Al-Shammari said that “unlawful militias in Iraq pose a dual threat: they undermine Iraqi sovereignty and endanger regional security. Gulf states recognize that Iraq’s stability is part of their own stability. Iraq has the right to assert its sovereignty and prevent external interference.”
He added: “At the same time, Gulf states retain the right to take appropriate measures if their security is threatened, but it is preferable for this to be done in cooperation with the Iraqi government itself, in a way that supports its sovereignty and prevents Iraqi territory from being used for external agendas.”
Al-Shammari’s analysis aligns with comments made by an Iraqi diplomatic source involved in Gulf affairs in an interview with Alhurra.
“Gulf states are seeking cooperation with Iraq to end the threat of factions. They do not want escalation with Baghdad but are looking for its support. We have not received any escalatory messages beyond protest notes,” the Iraqi diplomat said.
At a March 2026 GCC ministerial meeting, the bloc issued a strongly worded statement affirming that member states’ security is indivisible, and that an attack on one member is an attack on all. It also reaffirmed the right to respond under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, which guarantees the right of individual and collective self-defense.
Brig. Gen. Hassan Al-Shahri said in an interview with Alhurra: “Protest notes will be read as containing clear and specific demands to Baghdad: identify the perpetrators, hold them accountable, and prevent recurrence. This is not interference, but a test of the Iraqi state’s seriousness in upholding its obligations to its neighbors.”
He added: “We are facing a phase of testing Iraq’s intentions. If Baghdad proves capable of control and accountability, the process will remain diplomatic. But if disorder and fragmentation continue, the equation will shift from protest to deterrence, and from patience to redrawing the rules of engagement to protect Gulf security without hesitation.”
Gulf states have adopted a mixed strategy in dealing with these threats. While strengthening their defensive systems to counter attacks, they have avoided direct military escalation with the Iraqi state. Instead, they have pursued a diplomatic track focused on supporting Iraqi state institutions, based on the view that Iraq’s internal stability is key to ending the presence of armed groups threatening regional security.
Dr. Haider Saeed, head of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, said: “The challenge of factions and militias is fundamentally an Iraqi challenge. It is not limited to Iraq’s relations with Gulf states. These armed groups are attempting to impose their positions on the Iraqi state and the entire country regarding regional conflicts, regardless of the government’s official stance on war and peace.”
He added in an interview with Alhurra: “I believe Gulf demands on Iraq will stop at protest notes and will not reach the level of U.S. demands to dismantle the factions. They will consider it an Iraqi internal matter. They want a neighboring Iraq capable of controlling violence and preventing threats, but they will remain aligned with the U.S. approach in this regard.”
The issue of attacks launched from Iraq toward Gulf states has become one of the most influential factors in Middle East stability. With no comprehensive solution to the issue of weapons outside state control, such attacks continue to pose a latent threat to shipping routes, energy infrastructure, and regional economic integration efforts—making the enforcement of Iraqi border control and sovereign security decisions a critical necessity for regional stability.
Iraqi academic Dr. Abbas Aboud said in an interview with Alhurra: “The Iraqi government should deploy forces in areas from which rockets were launched, so that the Gulf can see serious steps to address this security breach, conduct transparent investigations, and inform them of the results.”
He also recommended forming joint committees to build trust, saying: “A security breach has already occurred, but the real danger is a breach of trust in the Iraqi government. That trust must be restored.”
In conclusion, the attacks have created a Gulf diplomatic vacuum in Baghdad. For weeks, there have been no Gulf diplomatic missions in the Iraqi capital. However, this is not a full withdrawal, but a temporary departure until Baghdad is “able” to ensure protection for diplomatic missions, according to a Saudi embassy source who previously spoke to Alhurra.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Mustafa Saadoon
Mustafa Saadoon is an Iraqi journalist who has worked for several international and Arab media organizations. He covers politics and human rights.
Sakina Abdallah
A Saudi writer, researcher, and TV presenter
