Geopolitical tensions between Tehran and Washington are intensifying amid stern Iranian warnings and an escalating exchange of military threats.
The confrontation has entered a new phase, with joint US-Saudi strikes targeting Iran-backed armed groups inside Iraq and Iranian missile attacks directed at US bases in Jordan.
As US President Donald Trump threatens powerful strikes against Iran, the crisis has spread to the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean. Developments include a drone attack on two gas carriers at Egypt’s Damietta Port, reflecting the widening geographical scope of the confrontation.
US and Saudi Arabia Strike Armed Groups in Iraq
The United States and Saudi Arabia carried out joint air strikes on Wednesday against Iran-backed armed factions inside Iraq.
The attacks were the first US strikes in the region since Trump suspended the bombing campaign against Iran last week.
Washington and Riyadh said the strikes were launched in response to drone attacks originating from Iraqi territory that targeted Saudi oil facilities.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces said several bases across the country were struck, killing 20 of its members and wounding another 32.
Iran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported that four military advisers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also killed in the US-Saudi strikes, which targeted weapons sites and logistical facilities belonging to Iraqi armed factions.
Although Tehran did not confirm the deaths, Iran’s Mehr News Agency identified the four IRGC members as Ali Asghar Astaneh, Abolfazl Motaghi, Morteza Akbari and Amir Abbas Derhamforoush, all from the city of Kashan.
Angry Iraqi Reactions and Government Measures
Following the strikes, Iraq’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.
The council condemned the US-Saudi attack, saying it had caused deaths and injuries, and discussed its security and political consequences.
It decided to prepare a comprehensive security plan to protect Iraqi sovereignty and prevent Iraqi territory from being used to threaten neighbouring states.
The council also directed the Foreign Ministry to act in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter to document the attack and preserve Iraq’s legal rights.
The Iraqi presidency also condemned the strikes, describing them as “an unacceptable aggression and a flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty”.
At the same time, it called for an end to attacks carried out by armed groups against neighbouring countries.
Footage broadcast by Iraq’s Al-Ahd television channel showed men chanting sectarian slogans and “Death to America” as the bodies of those killed were transported from a hospital in Mosul.
Armed Factions Threaten Retaliation
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq gave government bodies that had called for its disarmament a deadline ending on 6 August.
The group said it was waiting to see what measures the government would take and warned that “the response to the American enemy is inevitably coming, and it may reach its tools in Saudi Arabia whenever circumstances require”.
In a statement published on Telegram, the group said it had postponed its response to protect visitors commemorating Imam Hussein and those operating service processions, and to avoid disrupting the Arbaeen pilgrimage.
Iraq’s Harakat Al-Nujaba also warned that the United States and Saudi Arabia would pay a “heavy price” for the strikes against Iran-backed armed groups inside Iraq.
Iran Expands Its Military Response
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Wednesday morning that it had targeted a US airbase and the US Central Command headquarters in Jordan with ballistic missiles.
The IRGC said the attack was carried out “in response to the aggressive actions conducted by the US military”.
Iran also announced that it had targeted three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Separate reports said a US projectile had fallen on the city of Piranshahr in north-western Iran, near the Iraqi border.
Reports from Tehran said the Iranian leadership had confirmed its full readiness to respond to any new US escalation, while maintaining an updated target bank and military capabilities that had not yet been fully used.
Trump Threatens Powerful Strikes
Trump threatened powerful attacks against Iran following the strike on US forces in Jordan.
“We will hit them hard,” Trump told Fox News.
He added that the Iranian attack had come as a surprise and that US forces had only minutes to intercept the missiles.
Despite the threat, the US president indicated that he remained open to the continuation of diplomatic efforts.
“We will let them keep talking,” he said.
The US military had announced on Tuesday that it intercepted ballistic missiles fired by the IRGC towards US forces stationed in the Middle East, adding that its troops remained on the highest level of alert.
Regional Escalation Risks Widening the War
Saudi Arabia’s declared participation in strikes inside Iraq marks its first direct military involvement alongside the United States during the current war.
The development has raised fears that the conflict could expand further to include Iran’s regional allies.
Washington is also continuing to pressure the Iraqi government to adopt tougher measures against Iran-backed factions, despite previous attempts producing domestic unrest.
The escalation coincides with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Iranian visitors in Iraq to commemorate the Arbaeen of Imam Hussein. Some carried images of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On another front, Yemen’s Houthi movement announced last week that it was imposing a blockade on Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea, alongside attacks targeting vessels and oil facilities.
Hours before the US-Saudi strikes, the US military said it had foiled an Iranian attack against its forces in the region, while the Jordanian military announced that it had intercepted five Iranian missiles.
In southern Lebanon, the Israeli occupation army said Hezbollah had used a drone to strike one of its engineering vehicles in the Ali Al-Taher Heights.
Israel’s Channel 15 quoted a source as saying consultations were under way over the nature of the response.
Drone Attack Hits Gas Carriers in Egypt
In an unusual development, maritime security company Ambrey said a drone had struck a gas carrier owned by a US company inside Egypt’s Damietta Port, according to an initial assessment.
Port services company Inchcape also reported fires aboard two gas carriers inside the port.
Three commercial sources told Reuters that the drone struck the floating storage vessel Energos Winter before the fire spread to the vessel GasLog Salem.
Two Egyptian security sources said the explosion had been caused by a drone attack.
Hormuz Diplomacy Falters
On the diplomatic front, Iran rejected an Omani proposal for the joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, dealing another setback to attempts to de-escalate the crisis.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran considered the proposal “unreasonable” and believed joint management with Oman would not serve Iranian interests.
The official said Iran remained committed to maintaining full control over the inbound shipping lane and partial control over the outbound lane.
The United States, meanwhile, continues to urge vessels to use the navigation corridor near the Omani coast.
The IRGC said it exercised full control over the strait and would respond to what it described as “illegal US military intervention”.
Reuters also quoted regional sources as saying the Houthi movement was considering imposing fees on commercial vessels passing through the southern Red Sea via the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.
Such a move could place additional costs on global trade.
Oil Prices Jump as Political Efforts Stall
The military escalation had an immediate effect on energy markets, with oil prices rising for the first time since last week as diplomatic efforts faltered and no signs emerged that the war, which began in February, was approaching an end.
Brent crude futures rose by around 6.8 per cent, approaching $90 a barrel by 12:30 pm GMT.
Prices had exceeded $100 a barrel last week before falling after Trump announced the suspension of the bombing campaign against Iran.
