Iran has launched multiple ballistic missiles in an attempted surprise attack on American forces in the Middle East, the US military said. The attack occurred at 17:45 EDT (21:45 GMT) on Tuesday, with all missiles successfully intercepted, according to US Central Command (Centcom), which did not disclose locations of targets.
The US military and Saudi Arabian forces struck Iran-aligned terrorists in Iraq in retaliation for Iran-directed drone attacks, Centcom said. They destroyed multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites in eastern Iraq. The US military described this as a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours. Centcom said Iran's military and its terrorist proxies must cease attacks to avoid further US military response.
Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's defense ministry spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said drones targeting petroleum facilities in the country's eastern region were intercepted and destroyed. He alleged the drones were launched by Iran-affiliated militia groups in Iraqi territory.
The renewed hostilities came a day after US President Donald Trump spoke of very friendly negotiations with Iran, though Tehran denied such talks. Access and control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a key sticking point. 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 service members have been wounded since Trump ordered strikes against Iran in February, according to Pentagon data. Of those, 417 were injured in relation to Operation Epic Fury, the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran.
Source: infohub.kz.