BAGHDAD, Aug 7, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi received an invitation to visit Riyadh, his office said Friday, as Tehran-backed groups announced they would delay their response to deadly US-Saudi strikes in Iraq last month.

Zaidi was supposed to visit Riyadh in late July, but the trip was cancelled due to the strikes which 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 US-Saudi 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 its territory to launch attacks on neighbouring countries.

On Thursday, Iraqi authorities said they boosted security measures along the borders and throughout the country.

Two security sources told AFP that security 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 to the US-Saudi strikes.

But on Friday, it announced that it has decided "to postpone the response that was scheduled for today" following a call from the head of Badr organisation, Hadi al-Ameri, also 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 those groups -- which Washington designates terrorist organisations -- until September 30 to disarm.

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