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Iraq strikes and missile barrage
The United States and Saudi Arabia carried out joint precision strikes in Iraq against Iran-aligned militias, after Iran and its proxies allegedly targeted American forces over the last few days, with CENTCOM saying the airstrikes hit “terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq.”
“terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq”
In the same escalation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in the Middle East early Wednesday, and the CBS News account says the missiles were intercepted and that the U.S. held off on directly striking Iran while President Trump said he wanted to give diplomacy a chance.
The U.S.-Saudi operation came after a reported lull, and the CBC report said the flare-up on multiple fronts raised the risk of a return to all-out war.
The Washington Post described Trump’s response as a threat to hit Iran “hard,” following U.S. officials saying Iran had launched a ballistic missile attack that was intercepted on U.S. military assets in the region.
The Guardian also tied the strikes to a wider regional pattern, saying Iran launched missiles at U.S. military installations in Jordan in its first attack in the region since the pause in fighting with the U.S.
Condemnations and competing narratives
Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) condemned the U.S.-Saudi strikes as “dangerous escalation,” saying at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded in joint Saudi-US strikes on its sites across the country.
The Al Jazeera report also quoted Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence saying the strikes were “in response to recent drone attacks” and that Saudi air defences had “intercepted and destroyed several drones” launched from Iraqi territory.
In Baghdad, the Iraqi presidency denounced the air raids as “a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, targeting its official institutions,” according to The Guardian.
The Guardian further reported that Trump said the U.S. would be “be hitting [Iran] hard,” even as he claimed the strikes in Iraq were coordinated with the government despite Baghdad’s condemnation.
Al Jazeera added that Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it called “aggressive attacks” by the US and Saudi Arabia in Iraq, saying they amounted to a violation of Iraq’s “national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Blockade, shipping, and next moves
CENTCOM said it continues to enforce a naval blockade against ships looking to dock in or depart from Iranian ports, and DW reported that as of July 29 it had redirected 20 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two.
“As of July 29, CENTCOM has redirected 20 commercial vessels”
DW also said CENTCOM stated that “Freedom of navigation remains for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz except for ships entering or exiting Iranian ports,” while also noting that since early May it had helped “approximately 1,000 vessels and 500 million barrels of crude oil pass through the narrow waterway.”
The Guardian framed the stakes as a widening conflict, warning that the U.S.-Saudi strikes pushed the region into “uncharted territory,” with analysts warning of a widening and increasingly “unpredictable” conflict.
In parallel, the CBC report said the renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking, with Brent crude jumping 3.1 per cent to $84.58 US a barrel.
The Guardian also reported that Iraq’s prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, called off a planned meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Thursday in the wake of the strikes.
