NewzUS President Donald Trump vowed to hit back hard at Iran after it attacked US bases in Jordan on Wednesday, as the Middle East war reignited and again drew in the Islamic republic’s proxies. The warning came after a lull in the fighting — which had spurred hopes of a return to negotiations — appeared to end, sending oil prices jumping five percent over fears of disruptions to global supplies. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced strikes on militant bases in Iraq, while US ally Israel accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of a truce violation.
For two days, the world’s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia has reported drone attacks targeting crude facilities that it blamed on Iraqi armed groups allied with Tehran. Iran meanwhile launched missiles at US ally Jordan, with Iranian state media later reporting an American attack near the Islamic republic’s border with Iraq. Trump told Fox News: “We’ll be hitting them hard…We are going to beat the ‘effing s’ out of them.” – ‘Resistance’ – Saudi security analyst and researcher Hesham Alghannam told AFP: “Tehran is now using its proxy network to sustain leverage while the diplomatic track absorbs international attention.
Iran’s state television, meanwhile, reported a US strike in the Piranshahr border area, after the Fars news agency reported a missile hit an uninhabited area, causing no casualties. Earlier, Jordan’s army said it had intercepted five Iranian missiles, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying they had targeted US bases there. “As long as the threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue…the resistance will continue,” they added.
On another front, Israel accused Hezbollah of deploying a drone overnight against an Israeli vehicle inside Lebanon, in what the military called “a blatant violation of the ceasefire”. Israel fought alongside the US in the first weeks of the war against Iran, while battling Hezbollah in Lebanon, but it has yet to join the latest round of strikes against the Islamic republic. – ‘Dangerous’ – US stocks ended sharply lower on the oil price jump Wednesday, while the yield on 30-year US Treasury bonds hit their highest levels since 2007.
In Iraq, a joint US-Saudi air operation followed attacks by what Riyadh called “terrorist militias loyal to Iran” on its oil facilities. The US military said logistics and weapons sites belonging to an Iran-aligned group were tar… The military said its troops 'continue to operate in the ridge area and will not allow terrorists in the area to advance or execute attacks against IDF soldiers'.
(EPA Images pic) JERUSALEM: The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of a "blatant violation of the ceasefire" in Lebanon on Wednesday, saying the Iran-backed militant group had fired a drone at an Israeli vehicle there.The army said the incident took place in a strip of territory where Israeli forces are operating that runs around 10km (six miles) deep inside southern Lebanon along its border with Israel."Overnight (Wednesday), Hezbollah launched an explosive drone toward an IDF engineering vehicle in the area of Ali al-Taher Ridge within the Security Zone," the military said in a statement, calling the incident "a blatant violation of the ceasefire".It added that no injuries were reported among Israeli soldiers.The military said its troops "continue to operate in the ridge area and will not allow terrorists in the area to advance or execute attacks against IDF soldiers".Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, visited soldiers deployed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.He said the army "will not withdraw from the security zone until long-term security is ensured"."If required, we will deepen our operations and reach additional areas," he added, according to a military statement.Under a US-sponsored agreement signed last month, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy.The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in support of Tehran on March 2, triggering major Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion.While violence has declined since the signing of a preliminary US-Iran deal last month and the Lebanon-Israel agreement, Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and artillery shelling on the south.Lebanon's army on Sunday condemned ongoing Israeli military activities that it said were preventing its full deployment under the framework deal.Hezbollah has not claimed any attacks since June 20. An explosion at a port on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast set fire to two ships, including a U.S. gas storage tanker, according to maritime tracking firms.
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