Jordan intercepts Iranian missiles as US and Saudi Arabia launch strikes
against militias in Iraq
[July 29, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY and ELENA BECATOROS
CAIRO (AP) — Jordan's air defenses intercepted five missiles launched
from Iran early Wednesday, the country's military said, hours after the
U.S. military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage
launched against American forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief
pause in fighting.
The Jordanian military said the missiles had been “intercepted and
destroyed.” Iran's state-run IRNA news agency carried a statement from
the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard saying the Guard’s Aerospace Force
fired ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and the
headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command in Jordan.
Hours earlier, the U.S. Central Command said its forces “remain vigilant
and at a high state of readiness,” and that they had also worked with
Saudi Arabia’s forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed
militias have used to launch attacks in recent days.
In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the U.S. warned that further attacks
on American troops or Saudi Arabia ’s energy infrastructure risked
additional action.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called an emergency meeting of the
country’s National Security Council Wednesday to discuss the strikes.
The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during
which neither announced attacks for about three days following weeks of
escalation 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 U.S. President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, four U.S. troops
died during the fighting, while the Pentagon asked an increasingly
skeptical Congress for money to cover the conflict’s ballooning costs.
Saudi Arabia and US strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq
“U.S. 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,” U.S. Central Command said,
using an acronym for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
It said the Revolutionary Guard “and its terrorist proxies must cease
these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.”
The Saudi Defense Ministry acknowledged the strikes in a post on social
media, warning that “the Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek
escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces.”
The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of primarily Shiite,
Iran-backed armed groups that is officially under the command of the
Iraqi military, said in a statement that at least 20 fighters were
killed and 32 others wounded in the overnight strikes on its sites in
several parts of Iraq.
The groups making up the PMF joined in the fight against the Islamic
State group after it seized large sections of Iraq in 2014.
In 2016, the Iraqi government designated PMF as an “independent military
formation” within the Iraqi armed forces, but in practice the member
militias have continued to operate with significant autonomy. Some of
them have launched attacks on U.S. facilities.
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Iranian pro-government demonstrators chant slogans in a gathering at
a square in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid
Salemi)
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it shot down drones fired by
Iran-backed militias in Iraq for a second day, while Iran-backed
Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have forced a Saudi oil tanker to
turn around as part of their announced blockade of the kingdom.
Al-Zaidi, the Iraqi leader, ordered security agencies to investigate
after the Saudis alleged a similar attack on Monday. The Iraqi
military said the country is committed to “preventing Iraqi
territory from being used as a route or launching point for any
attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”
The 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.
Iranian state-run media says tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday that the
Revolutionary Guard’s Navy claimed it had struck and stopped three
oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. It said the strikes came after
the vessels allegedly ignored repeated warnings and continued
sailing along what it described as an “unsafe and illegal route.”
The report did not identify the tankers or the flags they were
sailing under.
There was no immediate independent confirmation of any strikes on
tankers in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Houthis claimed to have fired missiles at the Saudi
oil tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea, forcing it to turn back. There
was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the claim. Last week,
the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, putting another
key Middle Eastern waterway — through the Bab el-Mandeb strait
leading to the Red Sea — at risk.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said late
Tuesday that a tanker reported hearing explosions while traveling in
the southern Red Sea the previous day. It did not name the tanker
but said the crew and vessel were safe. It did not report strikes
against tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
The rebels fired on at least one Saudi tanker in the Red Sea last
week.
___
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers
Abby Sewell in Beirut and Konstantin Toropin in Washington
contributed to this report.
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