The unprecedented joint US-Saudi strikes on Iran-linked militias in Iraq last week have done more than raise the prospect of retaliation. The strikes, which marked the first time Riyadh has publicly joined strikes alongside the US, were in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities launched from Iraqi territory. However, neither Riyadh nor Iraq's Iran-linked militias currently appear to want a sustained military confrontation. This was a message to Tehran that Saudi Arabia holds Iran responsible for what its personnel direct from Iraqi soil, regardless of which formation pulls the trigger.” However, a renewed confrontation could prompt these groups to launch further attacks on Saudi Arabia, and potentially Jordan or other Gulf states.