Iraq's PM says he has been invited to Riyadh after US-Saudi strikes

Iraqi Prime Minister Zaidi says he has received a renewed invitation to visit Riyadh, after a planned trip in late July was cancelled because of joint US-Saudi strikes that killed 20 militants, including five Iranians, on July 29.

His media office said Zaidi met Saudi intelligence chief Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan, who "conveyed a message from the Saudi leadership renewing the invitation for the prime minister to visit the Saudi capital, Riyadh".

The strikes came after Riyadh said its forces had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities, blaming Iran-backed groups in Iraq. They also followed growing US pressure on Baghdad to disarm pro-Iran armed groups, which targeted US facilities hundreds of times during the Middle East war.

Zaidi, who came to power this year with Washington's blessing, vowed to ensure those groups would hand over their weapons, but has faced pushback from some powerful factions. His government has long said it rejects the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighbouring countries.

On Thursday, Iraqi authorities said they had boosted security measures along the borders and throughout the country. Two security sources told AFP the measures were put in place to prevent a response to the US-Saudi strikes.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of Tehran-backed groups, had vowed to retaliate. But on Friday it announced it had decided "to postpone the response that was scheduled for today", following a call from the head of the Badr organisation, Hadi al-Ameri, and citing the "honourable stances" of other political leaders.

Ameri, a political figure close to Iran, had pleaded with the groups in a video message not to respond to the attacks.

Zaidi's government has given the groups — which Washington designates as terrorist organisations — until Sept 30 to disarm.

Washington and Tehran are Iraq's main allies, but their enmity has long turned the country into a proxy battleground, leaving successive governments struggling to maintain a delicate balance between the two foes.