US, Saudi Arabia launch joint attacks in Iraq

The US and Iran traded strikes after days of uneasy peace, raising fears of fresh escalation.

Tehran’s “surprise” ballistic missile attack on US forces in Jordan was the first assault since Friday; hours later, the US and Saudi Arabia launched joint attacks on Iranian-backed militias in southern Iraq that had targeted Saudi oil facilities with drones, the first time Riyadh has acknowledged direct involvement in the war.

Oil prices, which fell during the lull in fighting, jumped 3.7% after news of the missile attack. Iran, meanwhile, rejected an Omani proposal to share transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz; the waterway is Tehran’s most crucial point of leverage, and it wants full control.