US says it intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles launched towards US forces in Middle East

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Tuesday it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards U.S. forces in the Middle East in what Washington cast as "an attempted surprise attack" by Tehran.

The statement by the U.S. Central Command did not mention the exact location it said Iran attempted to target.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards later said they fired several ballistic missiles at a U.S. air base and a U.S. military Central Command center in Jordan, in what they described as a response to U.S. actions against Iranian interests.

Axios reported earlier, citing a U.S. official, that Iran had launched ballistic missiles towards a U.S. base in Jordan and the missiles were intercepted.

"Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East. All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted," the Central Command said on X.

President Donald Trump, who abruptly called off a two-week U.S. bombing campaign on Iran over the weekend, has said there were "good talks" under way with Tehran but threatened to restart strikes unless negotiations delivered. Iran has denied seeking to resume talks with Washington.

The U.S. military said later that the Central Command and Saudi Arabia's armed forces conducted strikes in Iraq on what the U.S. said were sites of Iran-backed militant groups that were directed by Tehran to attack American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck those groups' logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, Washington said, urging Iran and its proxies to "cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response."

Saudi Arabia also confirmed the strikes in Iraq that it said were coordinated with the Central Command. Saudi Arabia's government said it did not seek escalation but would respond to any "aggression." Riyadh cast the strikes as a response to drone attacks on oil facilities.

The Iran war began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases.

U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Ismail Shakil and Chris Reese