TEHRAN, Iran, June 19 (World Daily Times) — Reuters, citing eight Iraqi sources, reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps set up small covert cells in Iraq to carry out drone attacks on Gulf states that host American forces. The allegation matters because it points to a more hidden way of waging regional conflict: smaller units, working outside known militia chains, are harder to track, harder to deter and easier to deny.
According to the report, the cells were created to bypass established militia networks and avoid detection. Three of the Iraqi sources described three or four cells, each made up of about 10 elite Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim fighters. Reuters said some members were drawn from the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of hardline Shi’ite factions, but that the new groups operated outside its command structure and reported directly to the IRGC.
That distinction is important for Iraq. If the account is accurate, it suggests that parts of Iraqi territory are being used not just by large, visible armed groups but by smaller clandestine teams that can move through desert areas with less attention. Reuters said three Iraqi security sources linked at least seven drone attacks to desert launch sites near Basra and Samawa between April 20 and May 17. Those sources said they relied on human intelligence, intercepted communications and evidence gathered from the launch sites.
The reported targets were in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iraqi officials quoted by Reuters said the covert cells were intended to give the IRGC plausible deniability, shift blame away from main Iran-backed groups and reduce U.S. pressure on Baghdad to disarm them. In that sense, the report is about more than one alleged campaign. It shows how regional armed networks may be adapting so attacks can be carried out with less obvious fingerprints.
The report did not identify any arrests, charges or court cases. It also did not include public responses from the IRGC or from the governments of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or the UAE. That leaves the claims at the level of source-based reporting, not a documented criminal case.
Still, the stakes for Iraq are clear. Drone attacks launched from inside its borders toward neighboring Gulf states would raise fresh questions about state control, border security and the reach of Iran-backed groups. For Baghdad, the issue is not only foreign policy. It is also whether the Iraqi state can prevent its territory from being used as a launchpad for covert cross-border attacks.
