AP
Cairo
Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in West Asia early Wednesday as the US partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Tehran-backed militias in neighbouring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters.
The flare-up on multiple fronts, after several days of relative calm, raised the risk of a return to all-out war. It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans.
The fighting was also likely to add to concerns that the US is further
drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and allies.
Saudi Arabia had accused the Iraqi militias of firing drones against its oil facilities over the past two days. An umbrella group of Iraqi militias initially denied the allegations, while another Iran-backed group – the Houthi rebels in Yemen – said they had attacked Saudi energy facilities as part of a separate but related conflict.
Before the latest eruption, mediators had expressed optimism about bringing the US and Iran back to the negotiating table. An interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies that Iranian attacks have again effectively closed.
A regional official said mediators are “still trying with both sides” to restore calm and get the ceasefire back on track. He gave no details on whether progress was being made and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy.
The renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.1 per cent to USD 84.58 a barrel.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key US military hub for the region, in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency.
Jordan’s military said five Iranian missiles had been intercepted and destroyed. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The US military later announced that American and Saudi fighter aircraft had struck multiple logistics and weapons sites in eastern Iraq in response to the alleged drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Defense Ministry warned that it “does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression.”
The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups that is officially under the command of the Iraqi military, said at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 others wounded in the overnight strikes.
