BAGHDAD -- 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. Elsewhere, drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta, according to Ambrey, a British maritime security firm. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes on a U.S.-owned floating storage facility and a Greek-owned tanker. No injuries were reported. The flare-up on multiple fronts, after several days of relative calm, raised the risk of a return to all-out war. It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans. The fighting was also likely to add to concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and allies. Egypt, a close U.S. ally and regional mediator, is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have been spared direct military action during the war. A strike by Iran or its allies, if confirmed, would mark a significant widening of the conflict. Asked during an Oval Office event if Iran was responsible for the strikes on the natural gas vessels, Trump responded, “It’s a little more of the same.” “It’s going to be straightening out,” Trump said. He added: “In the meantime, we’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it.” Saudi Arabia had accused the Iraqi militias of firing drones against its oil facilities over the past two days. An umbrella group of Iraqi militias initially denied the allegations, while another Iran-backed group -- the Houthi rebels in Yemen -- said they had attacked Saudi energy facilities as part of a separate but related conflict. Before the latest eruption, mediators had expressed optimism about bringing the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table. An interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies that Iranian attacks have again effectively closed. A regional official said mediators are “still trying with both sides” to restore calm and get the ceasefire back on track. He gave no details on whether progress was being made and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy. The renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.1 per cent to US$84.58 a barrel. Jordan intercepts missiles and U.S. strikes militias in Iraq Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and the headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command in Jordan, in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. Jordan’s military said five Iranian missiles had been intercepted and destroyed. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The U.S. military later announced that American and Saudi fighter aircraft had struck multiple logistics and weapons sites in eastern Iraq in response to the alleged drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Defence Ministry warned that it “does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression.” The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups that is officially under the command of the Iraqi military, said at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 others wounded in the overnight strikes. Two Iraqi militia officials told The Associated Press that six Iranian advisers were also killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The coalition joined the fight against the Islamic State group after it seized large sections of Iraq in 2014. The Iraqi government later designated the coalition as an “independent military formation” within the armed forces, but the militias have significant autonomy and some have attacked U.S. facilities. Iraq’s government decried the U.S.-Saudi attacks, though a Fox News reporter said in an on-air segment that Trump told him they were done in coordination with the Iraqi government. The office of Iraqi President Nizar Amidi called the airstrikes “a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.” Iraq’s National Security Council said the strikes had been carried out “while the Iraqi government was in contact with relevant parties to investigate and address all the concerns raised by the Saudi and American sides.” It said “a number of innocent people” had been killed and wounded. A visit to Saudi Arabia by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi that had been scheduled for Thursday was postponed indefinitely, said two Iraqi government officials on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. Attacks on Saudi oil facilities could worsen global energy crisis Saudi Arabia is also locked in a renewed conflict with the Houthis. The rebels have declared a blockade of Saudi shipping that could choke off another crucial Middle East trade route, the Bab el-Mandeb strait from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden. On Monday, the Houthis said they had launched drones targeting oil facilities used to transport oil across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, a key bypass for Saudi exports blocked by Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. The rebels said their attack was in response to a Saudi drone they said had breached Yemen’s airspace. Planet Labs satellite imagery from Monday analyzed by AP showed damage to Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil-processing facility. The massive facility is capable of processing approximately 7 million barrels of crude oil per day. Separately, a regional official said an oil refinery in Jazan, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, had temporarily shut down due to “relatively significant” damage from a Houthi attack on Saturday. The official, who was not authorized to brief journalists and spoke on condition of anonymity, said it would take several days to be repaired. The refinery produces 400,000 barrels per day. Iran rejects Oman proposal for managing Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz has been a major flashpoint in the conflict. Iran’s deputy foreign minister said his country had rejected a proposal from Oman, which lies on the other side of the strait, to jointly manage ship traffic. In an interview with Iran’s state-run television, Kazem Gharibabadi said Oman’s proposal included dividing the strait into two routes. Iran offered a counterproposal with a temporary plan for the transit of vessels through its territorial waters, he said, adding that Tehran’s policy is for the strait “never to return to its prewar situation,” when ships moved freely. --- By Qassim Abdul-zahra, The Associated Press Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Iraq, Abby Sewell in Beirut, David McHugh in Frankfurt and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
