The war is escalating as US-Saudi strikes target Iranian-backed Iraqi forces

I US and Saudi forces launched airstrikes Tuesday evening on Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, the US Central Command said, after Iran and its proxies were suspected of targeting US forces in the past few days.

The US-Saudi program was aimed at “terrorist and weapons sites in eastern Iraq,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on social media. The Saudi Ministry of Defense also confirmed that it had “carried out direct and targeted strikes,” citing its right to defend itself.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which is an umbrella group of Iraqi forces supported by Iran, in a statement issued on Wednesday that at least 20 of its fighters were killed and 32 wounded. The group said its headquarters in Baghdad and six other locations were hit.

CENTCOM said the strikes were related to more than 30 attempted attacks by aircraft on US and Saudi energy sites in the past three days, describing the attack on American assets as unsuccessful. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones launched in Iraq and targeted oil facilities in Riyadh and the east of the country.

The Jordanian military said the country’s defense forces intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday. In a statement, the military said the missiles were “intercepted and destroyed.” It did not name any victims.

Earlier, the US military said it shot down an Iranian missile and cooperated with the Saudi Arabian military to attack areas in Iraq where pro-Tehran forces have used attacks in recent days, disrupting fighting.

All Iranian missiles launched against US forces in the Middle East were intercepted, US Central Command said.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have raided and stopped three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards.

“Three oil tankers who violated the law, ignored our warnings and continued on an unsafe and illegal route, were hit and stopped,” Tasnim News reported.

It is not clear whether the tanks sustained significant damage, or whether any crew members were injured during the attack.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Yemen-based Houthi militant group, which is proxies to Iran, said it had fired several missiles at a Saudi-flagged missile in the Red Sea.

Iran has launched several ballistic missiles at US military forces in the Middle East in what the US Central Command described as a “sudden attack attempt.”

CENTCOM said the missiles were launched at 5:45 pm ET Tuesday by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. All were “successfully apprehended,” according to CENTCOM.

“The US military remains on high alert and at a high state of readiness,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

The White House meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “was very good,” according to a senior Israeli source who accompanied Netanyahu to the meeting.

“It was a very good meeting,” the source said. “The Prime Minister and the President had a very good and wide-ranging discussion about the important issues of the day, first and foremost Iran. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons.”

The meeting held that there might be tension, emphasizing the comments of Mr. Trump on Fox News just before the meeting. In response to a reporter’s question about Netanyahu wanting to discuss Pickaxe Mountain, Iran’s supposed nuclear facility, he said, “I don’t need Bibi to tell me that.”

“Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” said Mr. Trump told Fox News. “I said, ‘Why didn’t you just tell me, why do you have to announce it to the world?’

“I know exactly what happened to Pickaxe. It’s not a big problem,” added Mr. Trump.

The meeting lasted a little over an hour.