The war in the Middle East escalated once again after couple of days of fragile peace as the United States and Saudi Arabia launched joint strikes on Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Iran claimed to have intercepted oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and fired missiles at US military installations.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
Washington said the strikes targeted logistics and weapons sites used by Iran-backed militias to launch more than 30 drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities over the past 72 hours. The operation came hours after US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had intercepted all Iranian ballistic missiles fired at American forces in the Middle East.
The latest exchanges have renewed fears of a wider regional conflict centred on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that normally carries about 20 per cent of the world's traded oil.
US, Saudi Arabia strike Iran-backed groups in Iraq
The US and Saudi Arabia said they struck multiple sites across eastern Iraq used by Iran-backed militias to direct drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure.
CENTCOM warned that the Revolutionary Guard and its allied groups "must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response."
Saudi Arabia said it does not seek escalation but would respond to any aggression targeting the kingdom.
Iran denies role in Saudi drone attacks
Iran rejected allegations that it directed recent drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
An Iranian defence official described attempts to link Tehran to attacks on US interests and Saudi targets as a "major miscalculation."
Iraqi militias also denied responsibility, while the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq suggested Houthi rebels in Yemen were behind the attacks.
Eight Iraqi PMF members killed
Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said several of its headquarters were hit in the strikes.
The PMF's Nineveh command said eight of its members were killed and four others wounded in the joint US-Saudi attacks in the northern Iraqi province, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Flames and thick plumes of smoke rising from sites in Iraq's northern Nineveh province and southern Basra province following the joint US-Saudi strikes. The circulating footage also showed firefighters arriving at one of the targeted locations in Basra.
