Full story
Jordan strike sparks threats
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “hard” after U.S. officials said Iran launched a ballistic missile attack that was intercepted on U.S. military assets in the region, as the comments followed U.S. and Saudi joint strikes targeting Iranian-backed forces in Iraq overnight.
“with all missiles "successfully intercepted"”
The BBC reported that the US said the Iranian attack occurred at 17:45 EDT (21:45 GMT) on Tuesday, with all missiles “successfully intercepted,” and that the IRGC said it targeted a US air base and a command centre in Jordan “in response to the acts of aggression of the American child-killing army”.
Centcom said the joint US-Saudi strikes hit “multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq” in response to “over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” while the BBC said Saudi Arabia joined the strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
The Guardian said the flare-up followed an “attempted surprise attack” by Tehran that shattering a brief pause in fighting, and it reported that the joint strikes in Iraq killed at least 20 members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces and wounded others.
In Jordan, the BBC said Amman intercepted five Iranian missiles, and it reported that Trump told Fox News the US forces would be “hitting them hard” and that “They’re going to get a beating.”
Iraq condemns, Trump says coordinated
The BBC said the Iraqi presidency denounced the bombing of PMF bases as “an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty, targeting its official institutions,” while it also said the Iraqi presidency rejected the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks against neighbouring countries.
In the same BBC account, Trump told Fox News that the strikes had been “co-ordinated with the Iraqi government,” even as the BBC reported that the Iraqi presidency publicly condemned the operation.
The Washington Post described Trump’s threats as following U.S. officials’ account that Iran launched a ballistic missile attack that was intercepted, and it said the comments followed U.S. and Saudi joint strikes targeting Iranian-backed forces in Iraq overnight.
The Jerusalem Post reported that CENTCOM said it and the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces struck Iraq targeting “Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure,” and it said the PMF is composed of about 67 Iranian-backed armed militias.
The BBC also quoted Saudi defence ministry spokesman Maj-Gen Turki al-Maliki accusing “Iran-backed terrorist militias” of launching drones from Iraqi territory at oil facilities in the Eastern and Riyadh regions on Monday and Tuesday, and it said Saudi Arabia responded by conducting strikes “against specific targets belonging to those militias.”
Oil, negotiations, and escalation risk
The Independent said Trump unleashed an expletive-ridden threat to “beat the f****** s***” out of Iran after its “surprise” missile attack against US bases in the Middle East, and it reported that the US military announced it intercepted Iran’s latest “surprise attack” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“beat the f****** s***" out of Iran”
The Guardian reported that Brent crude oil rose after news of the flare-up, hovering around $88 a barrel, and it said oil prices had plummeted after the weekend lull and Donald Trump said there was a “good chance” of progress in negotiations to end the war.
The BBC said Centcom warned that “The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response,” while it also reported that Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes on Iraq as a “gross violation” of international law.
The Independent reported that CENTCOM later said the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces aided the US military in a separate military effort Tuesday after “Iran-aligned” terrorists launched more than 30 drone attacks in the last 72 hours, and it said Saudi Arabia also joined US strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 20 soldiers as war spread throughout the Middle East.
In the BBC’s account, the IRGC said naval forces struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after they “ignored warnings” and sailed along what it described as an “unsafe and illegal route,” and it said the US said the Iranian attack occurred at 17:45 EDT (21:45 GMT) on Tuesday with all missiles “successfully intercepted.”
