Saudi Arabia joins US in strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq

Saudi Arabia and the US have carried out strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in a potential escalation of the Middle East conflict.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes were against "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure".

Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which is dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, said at least 20 of its members had been killed in US-Saudi strikes on its bases.

It came hours after Centcom said Iran had launched missiles at US forces in the Middle East in an "attempted surprise attack", ending a lull in hostilities.

The US said the Iranian attack occurred at 17:45 EDT (21:45 GMT) on Tuesday, with all missiles "successfully intercepted".

The IRGC said it had targeted a US air base and a command centre in Jordan "in response to the acts of aggression of the American child-killing army".

It also said that naval forces had struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after they "ignored warnings" and sailed along what it described as an "unsafe and illegal route" through the vital Gulf waterway.

When asked by a Fox News correspondent on Wednesday about the Iranian attack on Jordan, US President Donald Trump said in an expletive-laden response that US forces would be "hitting them hard", adding: "They're going to get a beating."

Centcom said the joint US-Saudi strikes hit "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".

Oil prices rose on Wednesday over concerns that an escalation in the conflict could further disrupt energy shipments through the strait. The global benchmark Brent crude was up 5% to $88.50 per barrel.