The United States says it intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile attack against American forces in the Middle East before joining Saudi Arabia in airstrikes against Iran-aligned groups inside Iraq. The renewed fighting ended a brief pause in hostilities and sent oil prices sharply higher amid fresh threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington reports attempted surprise attack
US Central Command said Iran launched several ballistic missiles on Tuesday in what it described as an “attempted surprise attack” on American forces.
All the missiles were successfully intercepted, according to the US military, and no American casualties were immediately reported. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later confirmed that it had fired missiles towards US military installations in Jordan.
The intended targets reportedly included an American airbase and a regional command facility. Jordan subsequently said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed five missiles launched from Iran.
The attack came after a short reduction in fighting following almost two weeks of US strikes against Iranian targets and repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
President Donald Trump had paused the American bombing campaign while diplomatic efforts continued, saying there was a possibility of progress towards ending the conflict.
US and Saudi aircraft strike Iraq
Within hours of the attempted missile attack, American and Saudi forces carried out coordinated strikes against logistics and weapons facilities in eastern Iraq.
Central Command said the sites were used by Iran-aligned groups directed by the Revolutionary Guard to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia said its air defences had recently destroyed several drones targeting oil facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. Riyadh accused Iran-backed militias of launching the aircraft from Iraqi territory.
Iran denied responsibility for attacks launched from other countries, warning that automatically attributing them to Tehran represented a “major miscalculation”.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces said several of its official facilities were struck, killing several people and injuring others. The organisation forms part of Iraq’s state security structure but includes armed factions with close connections to Iran.
Iraqi militia groups denied involvement in the drone attacks against Saudi Arabia. They suggested that Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which has separately claimed attacks on Saudi oil installations and shipping, may have been responsible.
The Iraqi government ordered an investigation and said it would prevent the country’s territory from being used as a launching point for attacks against neighbouring states.
Iran claims attacks on three tankers
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also claimed that its naval forces had struck and stopped three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The organisation said the vessels had ignored warnings and entered what it described as an unsafe and illegal shipping route. The claim could not immediately be independently verified, and no information was released about the tankers, their crews or the extent of any damage.
The Guard warned that it continued to exercise control over the strategic waterway and would respond to what it called unlawful American military interference.
Before the war, approximately one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices jump on renewed escalation
Brent crude increased by $3.30, or 3.9 per cent, to $87.39 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate rose by $3.05, or 3.8 per cent, to $82.31.
Prices were also supported by an estimated 3.3-million-barrel decline in American crude inventories, but the renewed threat to Gulf shipping remained the dominant concern.
Oman has proposed a regional system for managing the Strait of Hormuz, modelled partly on arrangements used in the Strait of Malacca. The proposal would prevent any country from exercising sole control and could include voluntary contributions from shipping companies.
The latest missile attacks, airstrikes and tanker incidents have placed those diplomatic efforts under renewed pressure, raising fears that the brief pause may have delayed rather than ended the wider confrontation.
Newshub Editorial in Middle East – July 29, 2026
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