US and Saudi Arabia launch strikes against Iraq militias, killing at least 20

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.

In a statement, the Jordanian military said the missiles had been "intercepted and destroyed." Earlier, U.S. Central Command said they "remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness," and that it 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.

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.

Iran launched its ballistic missile attack before American and Saudi forces carried out strikes in Iraq, according to a U.S. official, who stressed that the two attacks were not connected. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations.

"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 strikes killed at least 20 members of a former paramilitary alliance that includes pro-Iran groups. The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, said at least 20 fighters "were martyred and another 32 wounded according to a preliminary toll" following the U.S.-Saudi strikes on its bases in seven provinces.