In brief
- US and Saudi Arabian forces have carried out strikes on Iran-backed forces in Iraq.
- The wave of attacks follows the abrupt cessation of a US-led bombing campaign in Iran over the weekend.
United States and Saudi Arabian warplanes carried out strikes on Wednesday against Iran-backed militants in Iraq who launched more than two dozen drone attacks in recent days, the US military said.
The strikes targeted "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
It further warned that "the IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response".
The CENTCOM statement did not mention the exact location it said Iran attempted to target.
Saudi Arabia confirmed its involvement in the strikes, with its defence ministry saying it hit "targets belonging to those militias present on Iraqi territory that are linked to attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities".
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The strikes came after the ministry said its forces had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the east, blaming Iran-backed groups in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia called the previous day for the Iraqi government to prevent attacks from its territory, after which Iraq said it had ordered an investigation.
The IRGC later said they fired several ballistic missiles at a US air base and a US military CENTCOM centre in Jordan, in what they described as a response to US actions against Iranian interests.
US outlet Axios earlier reported, citing a US official, that Iran had launched ballistic missiles towards a US base in Jordan and the missiles were intercepted.
US President Donald Trump, who abruptly called off a two-week bombing campaign on Iran over the weekend, has said there were "good talks" underway with Iran but threatened to restart strikes unless negotiations delivered.
Iran has denied seeking to resume talks with the US.
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