US joins forces with Saudis to strike Tehran-backed militias in Iraq
Oil price spikes after flare-up of fighting and claimed Iranian attacks on three tankers in strait of Hormuz
Guardian staff and agencies
Wed 29 Jul 2026 05.52 EDT
The US military said it knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi Arabia forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days. The strikes on Wednesday killed at least 20 members of a former paramilitary alliance that includes pro-Iran groups.
In what Washington cast as “an attempted surprise attack” by Tehran, Iran had launched multiple ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting. Iran’s target was a US base in Jordan, Axios cited a US official as saying.
US Central Command (Centcom) said all Iranian missiles launched on Tuesday were intercepted, and the US warned any further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure would trigger retaliatory strikes.
The joint US-Saudi strikes on targets in Iraq killed at least 20 members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces and wounded others. The PMF is an Iraqi state security service that Iran has infiltrated.
In a further sign that the lull in fighting could be over, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed on Wednesday to have struck and halted three “violating” oil tankers sailing an “illegal” route in the strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. The price of Brent crude oil rose after news of the flare-up, hovering around $88 a barrel.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/29/iran-missile-attack-us-base-forces
