US intercepts Iranian attack and launches joint strikes with Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed militias in Iraq
The US military warned Iran to halt its attacks carried out directly or via its regional proxies against Washington’s assets in the Gulf or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure to “avoid further military response”.
Published on 29/07/2026 - 6:19 GMT+2
The US military said on Tuesday that it knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi Arabia's forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days, shattering a brief pause in fighting.
All Iranian missiles launched against American forces in the Middle East were intercepted, US Central Command said, adding that they “remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.”
In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the US warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure risked additional action.
Iran launched its ballistic missile attack before US and Saudi forces carried out strikes in Iraq, according to an American official, who stressed that the two attacks were not connected.
“US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” the US Central Command said in a statement following its joint operation.
It said the Revolutionary Guard “and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response.”
The Saudi Defence Ministry acknowledged the strikes in a post on X, warning that “the Kingdom emphasises that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces.”
It comes after Riyadh said on Tuesday that it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq for a second day.
The kingdom's Defence Ministry said air defences intercepted and destroyed several drones that had tried to target petroleum facilities in the nation's eastern region.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered security agencies to investigate after Riyadh alleged a similar attack on Monday. Baghdad said it is committed to “preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”
Iraqi militias have denied any role in the drone attacks. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups, called the Saudi claims “fabrications" and implied that Monday's attacks were carried out by the Houthis, who had themselves claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities.
The Houthis claimed to have fired missiles at the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal, forcing it to turn back. Last week, they announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, putting another key Middle Eastern waterway — the Bab el-Mandeb strait leading to the Red Sea — at risk.
The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither side announced attacks for days following weeks of fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.
The fighting flared at the end of a month packed with multiple pressure points on US President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, four US troops were killed during the fighting, while the Pentagon asked an increasingly sceptical Congress for money to cover the conflict’s ballooning costs.
