Iran resumes missile attacks as U.S., Saudis strike Tehran-backed militias in Iraq
Fresh attacks end brief pause in fighting between Tehran and Washington
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attacks → resume → Tehran
The U.S. military said Wednesday that it launched strikes on Iranian targets in response to Tehran's attack on American forces in the Middle East.
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it → say → East
The latest barrage came after the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iran-backed militias in neighbouring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers.
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U.S. → come → fighters
The new strikes on Iran are "a powerful response to yesterday's attempted Iranian attack," U.S. Central Command said in a post on social media Wednesday evening.
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Command → attempt → media
U.S. President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate after Iran targeted a base in Jordan that hosts U.S. troops.
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that → vow → troops
Elsewhere, drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey.
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strikes → ignite → Ambrey
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes on a U.S.-owned floating storage facility and a Greek-owned tanker.
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who → float → facility
No injuries were reported.
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injuries → report → ?
The flare-up on multiple fronts, after several days of relative calm, raised the risk of a return to all-out war.
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up → raise → war
It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans.
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that → underscore → Americans
The fighting was also likely to add to concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and allies.
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U.S. → add → bases
Egypt, a close U.S. ally and regional mediator, is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have been spared direct military action during the war.
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Egypt → spar → war
A strike by Iran or its allies, if confirmed, would mark a significant widening of the conflict.
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strike → confirm → conflict
Asked during an Oval Office event if Iran was responsible for the strikes on the natural gas vessels, Trump responded: "It's a little more of the same."
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It → ask → same
"It's going to be straightening out," he added Wednesday afternoon.
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he → go → ?
"In the meantime, we're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them."
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it → go → them
Saudi Arabia had accused the Iraqi militias of firing drones against its oil facilities over the past two days.
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Arabia → accuse → days
An umbrella group of Iraqi militias initially denied the allegations while another Iran-backed group — the Houthi rebels in Yemen — said they had attacked Saudi energy facilities as part of a separate but related conflict.
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they → deny → conflict
Mediators 'still trying,' says official
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official → try → ?
Before the latest eruption, mediators had expressed optimism about bringing the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table.
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mediators → express → table
An interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies that Iranian attacks have again effectively closed.
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attacks → collapse → that
A regional official said mediators are "still trying with both sides" to restore calm and get the ceasefire back on track.
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ceasefire → say → track
He gave no details on whether progress was being made and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy.
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progress → give → diplomacy
Regional countries will continue to push to de-escalate the situation, said an Arab official, adding that prospects for successful mediation were slim as both sides continue to launch attacks on the other and have shown no inclination to stop.
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sides → continue → inclination
"We're in a very bad place right now," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe an internal assessment of the situation.
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who → say → situation
The renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking.
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hostilities → renew → prices
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.3 per cent to $88.09 US a barrel.
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crude → jump → US
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key U.S. military hub for the region, in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency.
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it → say → agency
Jordan's military said five Iranian missiles had been intercepted and destroyed.
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missiles → say → ?
The U.S. military later announced that American and Saudi fighter aircraft had struck multiple logistics and weapons sites in eastern Iraq in response to the alleged drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
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aircraft → announce → Arabia
The Saudi Defence Ministry warned that it "does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression."
Yemen's Houthis fire missiles, drones at Saudi Arabia
U.S. military says it fired on merchant vessel that tried to breach blockade of Iranian ports
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that → warn → ports
The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups that is officially under the command of the Iraqi military, said at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 others wounded in the overnight strikes.
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others → back → strikes
Six Iranian advisers were also killed, according to two Iraqi militia officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
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they → kill → anonymity
Iran's deputy governor for political, security and social affairs in Markazi province told Iranian state media that four advisers were killed.
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advisers → tell → media
The coalition joined the fight against the Islamic State group after it seized large sections of Iraq in 2014.
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it → join → 2014
The Iraqi government later designated the coalition as an "independent military formation" within the armed forces, but the militias have significant autonomy and some have attacked U.S. facilities.
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some → designate → facilities
Iraq's government decried the U.S.-Saudi attacks, though a Fox News reporter said in an on-air segment that Trump told him they were done in co-ordination with the Iraqi government.
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they → decry → government
The office of Iraqi President Nizar Amidi called the airstrikes "a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty."
Iraq's National Security Council said the strikes had been carried out "while the Iraqi government was in contact with relevant parties to investigate and address all the concerns raised by the Saudi and American sides."
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government → call → sides
It said "a number of innocent people" had been killed and wounded.
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number → say → people
A visit to Saudi Arabia by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi that had been scheduled for Thursday was postponed indefinitely, said two Iraqi government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
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they → schedule → anonymity
…and 10 more, not listed.
