- The Americans and Saudis say the strikes hit Iranian-backed targets in eastern Iraq.
- Iraq warns of ‘major miscalculation’
- Oman proposes regional management of the Strait of Hormuz.
DUBAI/CAIRO: The United States and Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Wednesday against Iran-backed groups in Iraq, saying they were responsible for drone attacks on Saudi oil installations, prompting Iran to warn that blaming it for such attacks was a “major miscalculation”.
The strikes on targets in Iraq come as Oman proposed a new regional deal aimed at resolving the conflict over the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday that its forces struck three oil tankers in the strait and forced them to stop after ignoring warnings that they were taking a “dangerous and illegal route”.
The IRGC Navy said in a statement that it continued to maintain full control over the strategic waterway and warned that “illegal US military interference” and instructions to ships in the region would not go unanswered.
Reuters could not immediately verify the guards’ account.
The US-Saudi strikes in eastern Iraq came just hours after the US military said its air defenses had averted a surprise Iranian attack on US troops in the region. The IRGC said on Wednesday it had fired several ballistic missiles at US military installations in Jordan.
The repeated attacks in recent days ended a brief pause in fighting, after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly called off a two-week U.S. bombing campaign and Iran appeared to follow suit.
US and Saudi Arabia strike pro-Iranian targets in Iraq
Saudi Arabia announced Tuesday that its air defenses had destroyed several drones targeting oil installations in the kingdom’s eastern province. Iran-backed militias launched the attacks from Iraqi territory, Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki said.
Later in the day, U.S. Central Command and the Saudi Defense Ministry said the two countries had struck several sites in eastern Iraq that they said had been used by Iran to direct drone attacks. The Saudi Defense Ministry said it was not seeking escalation but would respond to any “aggression”.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces said a number of its official headquarters in different parts of Iraq were attacked Wednesday by what it described as U.S. and Saudi forces. The PMF said preliminary reports indicated that several people were killed and others injured, and that a number of its buildings and facilities were damaged.
Oil prices rose more than $3 a barrel on Wednesday after strikes by the United States and Saudi Arabia amid fears of an escalation of conflict.
Speaking to Iranian state television, an Iranian defense official strongly denied any link between projectiles fired from other countries at Saudi targets.
The unnamed military official, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB, said attributing attacks on U.S. interests in the region to Iran was a “major miscalculation.”
U.S. Central Command also said Tuesday that Iran launched several ballistic missiles “in an attempted surprise attack against U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” and that the missiles were successfully intercepted.
In a statement, the Revolutionary Guards said: “As long as threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran persist and illegal and malicious actions by US forces against our interests continue, resistance will also continue. »
Hormuz Proposal
In a bid to resolve the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the waterway, which would include collecting voluntary fees from ships, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat said. Reuters Tuesday.
Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise exclusive control and the fees would be voluntary, said the Gulf source and the Western diplomat briefed on the matter. Reuters.
The system would be similar to that in place in Asia’s Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore require ships to make voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental protection and search and rescue operations.
Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers met via video call on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in the conflict, said a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
A U.S. official on Tuesday again rejected the idea of tolls or fees for ships transiting the strait, reiterating that it is an international waterway that should be free of Iranian control or restrictions. The official said Reuters that the agreement under discussion would not include any tolls or fees.
Iran effectively closed the strait after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. A deal reached last month between the United States and Iran partially reopened the strait, with future negotiations planned to resolve broader issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. But the deal collapsed in early July after Iran fired on ships using a shipping channel it does not recognize.
