Saudi Arabia joins US strikes on Iran-backed militias

Along with the US, the Saudis have carried out missile strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in a potential escalation of the Middle East conflict. One of the Iran-aligned groups, the Popular Mobilisation Forces, said at least 20 of its members were killed in the overnight attacks. Also in the programme: the number of settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank was the highest on record last month, according to the UN; and the health-conscious ravers swapping nightclubs for saunas. (Photo: Damage at a site belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) following joint airstrikes by the US and Saudi Arabia, in Bartella, Nineveh province, Iraq, July 29, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Khalid Al-Mousily)