Iran hits US in Jordan, US-Saudi strikes on Iraq: Is war spreading?

Published 29 July 2026 · world

The US says it intercepted an Iranian ‘surprise attack’ on US forces as fears rise of wider war. Iran has fired several ballistic missiles at

The US says it intercepted an Iranian ‘surprise attack’ on US forces as fears rise of wider war. Iran has fired several ballistic missiles at United States military installations in Jordan, and the US has confirmed it has intercepted a “surprise attack” on its forces in the Middle East. Also on Wednesday morning, the US and Saudi Arabia launched attacks on Iran-backed groups in Iraq. It is unclear whether Iran’s attack on Jordan happened before or after the US-Saudi attack on Iraq. A statement from the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) did not clarify which incident happened first. Here is a closer look at what happened, and whether this means the war is spreading What happened? Early on Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had fired multiple ballistic missiles at US military installations in Jordan. The US confirmed it had intercepted a “surprise” attack. CENTCOM, the IRGC and Jordanian authorities have yet to reveal exactly which military sites and assets were targeted in Jordan. Also on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence said its armed forces, in coordination with CENTCOM, had conducted attacks against Iran-backed groups in Iraq after drone attacks on Saudi petroleum facilities. CENTCOM confirmed it had carried out strikes with Saudi Arabian forces against “Iran-aligned” groups in Iraq which it claimed had attacked US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure on the orders of the IRGC. Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said the US-Saudi attacks killed at least 20 of its fighters and wounded 32 in seven provinces. The PMF is an umbrella group for armed groups in Iraq, some of which are loyal to Iran. The attacks hit PMF positions in the provinces of Baghdad, Wasit, Nineveh, Basra, Kirkuk, Karbala and Diyala, the state-sanctioned umbrella group of mostly Shia groups said in a statement. The PMF said the casualty figures were preliminary and could rise once field assessments were completed. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for Security on Wednesday after the US-Saudi attacks.

Why did the US and Saudi Arabia attack Iraq? The US and Saudi Arabia justified their attacks on Iraq by claiming Iran was responsible for recent drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities apparently launched from Iraqi territory. The US and Saudi Arabia said Iran-aligned groups in Iraq carried out “30 IRGC-directed” drone attacks in 72 hours. The accusation prompted a warning by an unnamed Iranian defence official via the state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), that blaming Iran for such attacks was a “major miscalculation”. Al-Zaidi has already ordered Iraqi security agencies to investigate the drone attacks and is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia on Thursday. However, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a self-described armed resistance group backed by Iran, denied any role in the attacks on Saudi Arabia. It said Saudi claims were “fabrications” and “any foolish Saudi action will be met with a harsh response”. Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow for Middle East security at UK-based think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told Al Jazeera that Iran, the US and Gulf states are all trying to balance military action with diplomacy. “We saw reports yesterday that Oman has put forward a proposal to Iran on voluntary tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, which could be interpreted as a concession to Tehran,” she said. “On the same day, [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu was at the White House. So diplomacy is continuing, but military pressure remains very much part of the picture.” Why did Iran attack Jordan? Iran’s latest attack on Jordan follows its pattern of targeting US military assets and infrastructure in Gulf countries, which it has been doing since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28. While it has not been revealed which military sites and assets were targeted in Jordan, the country is known to host about 4,000 US soldiers who are stationed there, according to a 2026 US Congressional Research Service report.