Iraq’s Vow To Modernize Air Defense After U.S.-Saudi Strikes Is Nothing New

Aug 01, 2026 05:57 PM - 2 hours ago 2

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After Iraq faced unprecedented associated U.S.-Saudi airstrikes against Iran-backed militias connected its territory early connected Wednesday, its authorities has declared its “top priority” is to modernize the country’s aerial defenses. Baghdad made akin declarations complete six years agone pursuing American and Iranian strikes connected its sovereign soil.

Tensions betwixt Saudi Arabia and the Houthis successful Yemen boiled complete successful July, threatening the March 2022 ceasefire. Amid renewed Houthi attacks connected Saudi power infrastructure, the kingdom besides recovered itself nether occurrence from drones launched from Iraq to its north. Iran-backed militias successful Iraq antecedently targeted Saudi Arabia during the tallness of the Iran warfare and moreover aft the April 8 ceasefire. This clip Riyadh joined the United States by launching a bid of airstrikes against those Iraqi militias backed by Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“U.S. and Saudi combatant craft struck aggregate violent logistics and weapons sites crossed eastbound Iraq successful a beardown consequence to complete 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks successful the past 72 hours,” publication the U.S. Central Command statement connected the associated attack. Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces stated that the strikes killed 20 and wounded 32 of their fighters. The PMF are a state-sanctioned paramilitary unit but besides person groups wrong its ranks that run independent of Baghdad and astatine Tehran’s behest.

Baghdad was intelligibly caught disconnected defender by these strikes. Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said Iraq hadn’t “granted immoderate support for attacks connected circumstantial sites aliases groups wrong Iraqi territory” nor had the authorities had immoderate “prior knowledge of the attacks connected Iraqi territory.” Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi canceled a travel to Saudi Arabia antecedently planned for Thursday.

Zaidi’s spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said the premier curate had “issued strict and contiguous orders… to raise alertness and readiness to maximum crossed each camps and bases, peculiarly astatine the charismatic bases of the equipped forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces.”

Furthermore, Numan said that modernizing and rebuilding the country’s aerial defense done the acceleration of plans to get radar and aerial defenses is simply a “top priority.”

Such comments are thing new. In fact, Iraq began 2026 pinch what looked for illustration a promising outlook for the early of its constricted and neglected aerial defenses. Reports from late 2025 indicated that it would statesman receiving the medium-range Cheongung-II, aliases KM-SAM, aerial defense rocket strategy it had ordered from South Korea arsenic portion of a landmark $2.78 cardinal deal. It’s besides expected to finalize a woody for 14 precocious Dassault Rafale F4 multirole combatant jets from France and was already upgrading its airspace sum pinch acquisitions of French-made Thales Grand Master 403 and GM200 radars.

Far from accelerating aerial defense procurement, Baghdad whitethorn really neglect to recognize its first plans to upgrade its aerial defenses that predated the coming Iran war.

Earlier successful the Iran war, Numan told Iraqi Kurdistan’s Rudaw Media Network that the authorities had decided to manufacture aerial defense systems for countering repeated drone attacks. The systems envisaged by the scheme would supply constituent defense for important facilities. Furthermore, he said they would protect accommodation wrong the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which faced changeless attacks from Iran and militias wrong Iraq, successful summation to the national provinces.

However, that nascent scheme has already deed a awesome stumbling block. In July, Iraqi Kurdistan’s BasNews reported that Iraq is incapable to protect Iraqi Kurdistan’s airspace. Iraq’s aerial defense commandant reportedly told lawmakers that the autonomous region’s airspace isn’t nether Iraqi power and truthful “we are not permitted to protect its skies.” According to the report, Muhannad Ghalib al-Asadi besides clarified that the Cheongung-II transportation has been delayed since Baghdad still hasn’t paid its 2nd installment. “The first costs has been made, and the 2nd installment is still pending,” he said.

Earlier successful July, Iraq’s Shafaq News reported that Iraq is astatine consequence of losing the statement altogether, pinch South Korea informing that it could moreover waste the strategy elsewhere if Iraq doesn’t complete its payments. Iraqi MP Faleh Al-Khazali told the outlet that Iraq paid the first $500 cardinal installment but has delayed further payments that were owed past year.

It’s worthy noting that the United Arab Emirates received its first Cheongung-IIs astatine the tallness of the Iran warfare erstwhile it was nether regular fire, swiftly pressed them into work and achieved aggregate intercepts, marking the system’s combat debut. Consequently, Seoul would presumably not baulk astatine delivering these systems to Baghdad amidst progressive location conflict erstwhile it fulfilled its payments successful full.

Iraq besides precocious ordered Turkish systems, astir apt the Korkut anti-aircraft weapon for constituent defense against drones. Effectively integrated, these Korean and Turkish systems could perchance supply a layered defense for Iraq against everything from accelerated high-flying ballistic missiles to mini slow low-flying drones. The Korkuts could moreover supply basal protection for the higher-end Cheongung-II batteries against close-range threats for illustration FPV drones launched from nearby.

All this seems up successful the aerial for the moment.

In the precocious 2010s, Iraq openly flirted pinch upgrading its aerial defenses pinch long-range Russian S-300 aliases S-400 strategical aerial defense rocket systems. Baghdad was alert that it could extremity up incurring American sanctions nether the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act introduced successful 2017 and reportedly suspended talks connected an S-300 acquisition successful 2019 owed to this existent risk.

Baghdad’s calculations concisely changed successful January 2020. After U.S. airstrikes killed 25 Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militants successful Iraq and Syria successful precocious December 2019 successful retaliation for a militia rocket onslaught that killed a U.S. subject contractor successful Kirkuk, ample protests occurred astatine the U.S. Embassy successful Baghdad. On January 3, President Trump made the fateful determination to bid a drone onslaught that killed Qassem Soleimani, caput of Iran’s IRGC’s extraterritorial Quds Force, and Kataib Hezbollah commandant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. They were some killed arsenic their car near Baghdad International Airport. A fewer days later, Iran ordered a nonstop ballistic rocket onslaught targeting an Iraqi airbase hosting U.S. troops.

Iraq likewise felt scandalized that its sovereignty had been truthful blatantly affronted and disregarded. It instantly signaled it would restart the process of acquiring the strategical Russian systems to springiness it immoderate capacity to deter aliases forestall specified attacks successful the future. Iraqi Ambassador to Iran Saad Jawad Qandil and the president of the Iraqi Parliament Defense Committee Mohammad Reza al-Haider some told media that Iraq was negotiating an S-300 acquisition.

Moscow encouraged Baghdad, suggesting it should opt for the much precocious and costly S-400 complete the S-300 it antecedently opened negotiations over. Echoing Turkey’s justifications for its contentious S-400 acquisition completed the twelvemonth before, which led a prohibition from the F-35 programme and CAATSA sanctions slapped connected Ankara, Iraqi officials claimed America offered nary viable alternative. “We are talking to Russia astir the S-400 missiles but nary contracts person been signed yet,” Karim Elaiwi, a personnel of the Iraqi Parliament Security and Defense Committee astatine the time, told The Wall Street Journal. “We request to get these missiles, particularly aft Americans person disappointed america galore times by not helping america successful getting due weapons.”

Igor Kurushchenko, a personnel of Russia’s defense ministry’s wide council, besides sounded the S-400 arsenic a judge measurement for Iraq to guarantee its “sovereignty and reliable protection of its airspace.” “Iraq must beryllium capable to protect itself from missiles fired from the U.S. and Iran,” he said.

Russian Ambassador to Iraq Maxim Maksimov clarified that Iraq didn’t make immoderate general petition for S-400s. As Iraq seems to person rediscovered pinch the Cheongung-II delay, acquiring higher-end aerial defense systems tin require a hefty financial commitment.

None different than Russian President Vladimir Putin hawked his aerial defense wares a fewer months earlier the Soleimani assassination. On September 14, 2019, Saudi Arabia endured an unprecedented drone onslaught against its captious lipid infrastructure claimed by the Houthis but wide suspected of being orchestrated by Iran. (Incidentally, the tremendous Abqaiq installation targeted past appears to person been targeted again successful past week’s onslaught that Saudi Arabia conscionable retaliated against alongside the United States.) Barely concealing his evident glee, Putin dubiously boasted that Saudi Arabia’s American-made aerial defenses grounded wherever Russia’s would’ve succeeded. Therefore, he urged Riyadh to travel successful Turkey's and Iran’s steps by buying S-400s and S-300s. It’s worthy recalling successful the years since past that Israeli airstrikes destroyed each of Iran’s S-300s without losing immoderate combatant jets and that Turkey is presently exploring a feasible measurement to dispense pinch its unused S-400s to regain introduction into the F-35 program.

Despite its affectional consequence to the violations of January 2020, Iraq’s renewed bid for S-300s aliases S-400s yet went nowhere. Today, it remains to beryllium seen whether its “top priority” for modernizing its aerial defenses will execute thing tangible successful the months and years to come.