An Iranian military official on Wednesday denied Tehran’s involvement in projectiles launched from Iraq toward Saudi Arabia, rejecting accusations that Iran was behind recent attacks on the kingdom.

Responding to a statement by the Saudi defence minister, the official told Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that attributing attacks against United States interests in the region to Tehran was “a grave mistake stemming from ignorance of the situation in the region.”

The official also “strongly denied any connection between projectiles fired from other countries toward targets in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The remarks came after Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones that attempted to target petroleum facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Province.

According to the ministry, the drones were launched from Iraqi territory by Iran-backed groups.

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The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US and Saudi forces carried out joint precision strikes against Iran-aligned group targets in Iraq, saying the operation targeted sites linked to attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia said the strikes were conducted in self-defence following attacks launched from Iraqi territory against the kingdom’s petroleum facilities, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter.

It also warned that it would take further military action if Iran-backed groups carried out additional attacks against the kingdom.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said that at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 others wounded in the US-Saudi airstrikes targeting the group’s headquarters in several provinces across the country.

The PMF said the strikes hit its facilities in the provinces of Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala and Diyala, causing extensive damage to its headquarters, military vehicles and equipment.