US, Saudis attack Iran-backed groups in Iraq, threatening to intensify conflict

A satellite image shows trail of smoke rising from an oil facility in Jizan, Jazan province, Saudi Arabia, July 26. Reuters-Yonhap

DUBAI/CAIRO — The U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday, saying they were responsible for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, prompting Iran to warn that blaming it for such attacks was a "major miscalculation."

The strikes on targets inside 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 global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.

However, Tehran ruled out Oman's proposal for regional joint management of the strait, saying it had no chance of success, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are trying to pressure Oman to advance their "unrealistic plans" regarding the strategic strait, the official said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday that its forces struck three oil tankers in the strait and forced them to stop after they ignored warnings for taking an "unsafe and illegal route."

The IRGC Navy said in a statement that it continued to maintain full control over the strategic waterway and warned that "unlawful U.S. military interference" and instructions to vessels in the region would not go unanswered.

Reuters could not immediately verify the Guards' account. The U.S.-Saudi strikes in eastern Iraq occurred just hours after the U.S. military said its air defences had averted a surprise Iranian attack on U.S. troops in the region. The IRGC said on Wednesday it had fired several ballistic missiles at U.S. military installations in Jordan.

Jordan's military said its air defences intercepted and shot down five Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom on Wednesday.

Back-and-forth attacks in recent days have ended a brief pause in the fighting, after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly called off a two-week U.S. bombing campaign and Iran appeared to follow suit.

US-Saudi hit pro-Iran targets in Iraq

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that its air defences destroyed several drones targeting oil facilities in the kingdom's Eastern Province. Iran-backed militias launched the attacks from Iraqi territory, Saudi Defence Ministry spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said.

Later in the day, U.S. Central Command and Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry said the two countries hit multiple sites across eastern Iraq that they said had been used by Iran to direct drone attacks. The Saudi Defence Ministry said it was not seeking escalation but would respond to any "aggression."

Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces said a number of its official headquarters in different parts of Iraq were attacked on Wednesday by what it described as U.S. and Saudi forces. The PMF said preliminary reports indicated several people were killed and others wounded, with damage to a number of its buildings and facilities. Oil prices rose over $3 a barrel on Wednesday after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia strikes over concerns the conflict may escalate.

Speaking to state TV in Iran, an Iranian defence official strongly denied any connection between projectiles fired from other countries toward 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 on Tuesday that Iran had launched multiple ballistic missiles "in an attempted surprise attack on 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 continue and illegal and malicious actions by U.S. forces against our interests are under way, the resistance will also continue."

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz are seen from Musandam, Oman, July 28. Reuters-Yonhap

Oman proposes joint management of Hormuz

In an effort to resolve the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, Oman has presented Iran with a plan backed by Gulf states to manage the waterway that would include collecting voluntary fees from ships, a Gulf source and a Western diplomat told Reuters on Tuesday. Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees would be voluntary, the Gulf source and the Western diplomat briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The system would be analogous to one in place on Asia's Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to pay 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, a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

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 told Reuters that the deal under discussion would not include any tolls or fees.

Iran and Oman control opposite shores of the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran insists the entire inbound route through the strait and part of the outbound route must be under Iranian control, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.

A 50-50 joint control arrangement with Oman would not serve Iran’s interests, though Tehran considers Oman a valuable neighbour, the official said.

Iran effectively shut the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. A deal last month between the U.S. and Iran partially reopened the strait, with future talks planned to resolve larger issues including Iran's nuclear program. But the agreement collapsed in early July after Iran fired on vessels using a shipping channel it does not recognise.