Iran and US trade strikes, shattering brief lull in fighting

Iran has launched “multiple” ballistic missiles in an “attempted surprise attack” on American forces in the Middle East, the US military said, shattering a lull in the fighting.

The attack occurred at 17:45 EDT (21:45 GMT) on Tuesday, with all missiles “successfully intercepted”, said US Central Command (Centcom), which did not disclose any locations of targets.

The US military and Saudi Arabian forces meanwhile struck “Iran-aligned terrorists” in Iraq in retaliation for Iran-directed drone attacks, according to Centcom.

Tehran has not yet commented. The reported crossfire ended a brief break in hostilities between the US and Iran, which was designed to bring negotiators back to the table.

The US and Saudi Arabia struck “multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites” in eastern Iraq, according to Centcom.

The US military said this was “a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours”, using an acronym for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Centcom said Iran’s military “and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response”.

Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said its military had intercepted and destroyed drones targeting petroleum facilities in the country’s eastern region.

Defence ministry spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki alleged the drones were launched by Iran-affiliated militia groups in Iraqi territory.

The reignited hostilities come a day after US President Donald Trump spoke of “very friendly negotiations” with Iran. At that point, the two sides had not exchanged strikes for a third consecutive day.

Access and control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in talks, which Tehran has denied are even happening.

The latest strikes coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where he met Trump at the White House and attended the funeral of US Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent Iran hawk.

At least 624 US military service members have been wounded since Trump ordered strikes against Iran in February, according to recent Pentagon data.

The Pentagon said 417 of those personnel were injured in relation to Operation Epic Fury, the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran.