The United States and Saudi Arabia have launched coordinated military strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions as hostilities between Washington and Tehran continue to intensify.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the operation targeted Iran-aligned militant groups allegedly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out attacks against American military personnel and Saudi energy infrastructure.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella organization dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, said the strikes hit several of its bases, killing at least 20 fighters and injuring 32 others. The group condemned the attacks as a dangerous escalation and accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of violating Iraq’s sovereignty.
The military action came only hours after CENTCOM reported that Iran had launched missiles toward US military positions in the Middle East in what it described as an attempted surprise attack. US officials said the missiles were fired on Tuesday evening but were successfully intercepted before reaching their intended targets.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the missile launches, saying they targeted a US air base and a command center in Jordan in retaliation for what it described as American aggression. The IRGC also announced that its naval forces had attacked three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after accusing them of using an unsafe and unauthorized shipping route through the strategic waterway.
CENTCOM said the joint US-Saudi operation also responded to more than 30 drone attacks allegedly carried out by IRGC-backed militias over the previous 72 hours. The military said those drone attacks had failed and warned that further aggression by Iran and its allied groups would trigger additional military action.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces, which were formally integrated into Iraq’s armed forces but include several powerful Iran-backed factions, have repeatedly been accused by the United States of targeting American troops stationed in Iraq. Washington has responded with multiple airstrikes against militia positions in recent years as part of efforts to protect its personnel and regional allies.
Iran, however, denied directing the drone attacks against Saudi Arabia. A senior Iranian defense official, quoted by state television, rejected allegations linking Tehran to the operations and warned that blaming Iran for attacks on US interests in the region would be a serious miscalculation.
Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed several drones targeting petroleum facilities in the country’s eastern region. Saudi military spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki alleged that the drones had been launched by Iran-affiliated militia groups operating from Iraqi territory.
The renewed violence follows a brief lull in hostilities that had raised hopes of easing tensions. Just one day earlier, US President Donald Trump had spoken publicly about what he described as “very friendly negotiations” with Iran after three consecutive days without direct military exchanges.
The temporary calm had followed nearly two weeks of sustained US airstrikes targeting military infrastructure in southern Iran, including tunnels and bridges. Those operations reportedly resulted in dozens of casualties and significantly increased regional instability.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the central points of dispute between Washington and Tehran. While the United States has emphasized the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation through the vital shipping route, Iranian officials continue to deny that formal negotiations with Washington are taking place.
Concerns that the latest military escalation could disrupt global oil supplies pushed crude prices higher in early trading on Wednesday, as investors monitored the security situation in one of the world’s most important energy transit corridors.
