Mideast Conflict

Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in the Middle East early Wednesday as the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Tehran-backed militias in neighbouring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in the Middle East on Wednesday as the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Tehran-backed militias in neighbouring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers.

The U.S. military said it knocked down an Iranian ballistic missile attack against American forces in the Middle East on Tuesday, shattering a brief pause in the fighting as mediators tried to get both sides back to negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had an “excellent” meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, their first sitdown since launching a joint war against Iran and it offered Netanyahu a chance to smooth out strains in their relationship.

Mediators have achieved progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region underscored the lingering tensions.

The four American troops killed during renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran in recent weeks are no longer listed as part of the Iran war death toll in the Pentagon’s official casualty count but have been placed in a new, separate category.

Oil prices eased in early trading Sunday, falling further from a two-month high set last week, after the United States and Iran refrained from launching military strikes in the Persian Gulf for a second straight day.

After a brief ceasefire in June following the signing of an interim deal to end the conflict, a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz erupted, shattering the truce and pushing the countries back to the precipice of an all-out war across the Middle East.

Drones carrying explosives targeted a city in northern Iraq where U.S. forces are stationed and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday, hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran.

Quebec-based Desgagnés’ two freighter ships, the Miena Desgagnés and the Rosaire A. Desgagnés, are the only known Canadian commercial vessels that have been stranded in the Gulf, along with approximately 500 other ships.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped US$100 a barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to attack a site linked to Iran’s nuclear program known as Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran’s main nuclear sites.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that the U.S. will destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the world.