According to a statement by the U.S. military command on X, Iran launched a “surprise attack” on U.S. troops last night: “Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched several ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempt to carry out a surprise attack on U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East.” All missiles were “successfully intercepted,” but U.S. forces remain “vigilant and on high alert.”
The purpose of the attack has not been disclosed. According to Axios, the missiles were heading toward a U.S. base in Jordan. This is the first time Iran has launched a strike without having first been attacked by the U.S. or Israel, writes Iran expert Hamidreza Azizi on X.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched a retaliatory strike. According to the U.S. military, they attacked several warehouses belonging to pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Earlier, Saudi Arabia reported that for the second day in a row, it had shot down drones launched by pro-Iranian Iraqi groups and targeting oil facilities in the eastern part of the kingdom.
The ceasefire has officially ended
These attacks ended the ceasefire that had been in place since July 24. Mediators had been trying to bring the adversaries back to the negotiating table. After 13 nights of continuous U.S. airstrikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks by Tehran, neither side had reported any further mutual attacks—until today. U.S. President Donald Trump even considered at one point that a diplomatic solution might be possible. “We are engaged in very in-depth negotiations with Iran,” he told Axios. As recently as July 27, he spoke of a “good chance” for an agreement.
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