Iran Receives Bodies of IRGC Members Killed in US-Saudi Strikes in Iraq

Iran has received the bodies of five members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who were killed in joint strikes conducted by the United States and Saudi Arabia in Iraq.

Iranian state media reported that the bodies were transported into the country via the Mehrán border crossing in the western Ilam province. The IRGC members died earlier this week during the coordinated attacks.

The US and Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that they had targeted Iran-backed militants in Iraq. This action was a response to recent attacks directed at Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf region. The strikes hit positions belonging to the Iraqi armed coalition, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which comprises several influential pro-Iranian groups.

Reports indicate that at least 20 militants were killed in the strikes, including the five Iranians identified as IRGC members. The Quds Force, an arm of the IRGC, oversees Iran's foreign operations, and its members killed abroad are often associated with this unit, according to AFP.

This incident echoes past tensions, as the US assassinated IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and PMF deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a 2020 airstrike in Baghdad.