Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq report drone attacks
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq fell under drone fire on Monday as Tehran appeared to test President Trump’s order to pause strikes on Iran in favor of diplomacy.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq allegedly fired two drones at Saudi Arabia’s petroleum facilities, Riyadh said, with fires reported at an Aramco site following another attack from the Houthi rebels.
The latest strikes threaten global oil supplies after the price of crude fell below $90 on Monday following news of Trump’s decision to stop bombing Iran over the weekend.
Oil prices had shot above $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May as a result of America’s 13-day bombing campaign and ongoing Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Prices were also affected by the Iran-backed Houthi terror group’s attacks on the critical Red Sea trade route, which has forced Saudi oil tankers to reroute.
The US strikes had mainly focused on Iran’s military facilities threatening the oil chokepoint, with Trump suspending the campaign after being advised that the bombings had reached the limits of what it could achieve, sources told Reuters.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had also expressed concerns over the depletion of America’s air defense missiles, according to Reuters.
Trump said the intense campaign ended to make way for the developing peace talks with Iran, but warned that war could restart if progress isn’t made.
Iran, meanwhile, has rejected the latest US peace proposal and launched a series of attacks on Monday.
Along with the strikes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan reported two drone interceptions on Monday, with Iraq citing a series of drone attacks on camps housing Iranian opposition Kurdish forces in the north.
Jordan and Iraq have come under increased fire for housing US troops in the region, and are where four of the latest soldiers killed in the war were based.
Iran’s military has also intercepted another six ships on Monday that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz without its permission, with one ship reportedly suffering “an accident,” according to Tehran’s state media.
“As previously announced, the traffic route in the Strait of Hormuz is the route specified by Iran, and other routes are contaminated and have no way out,” the state-run outlets reported.
Tehran’s renewed claim to the strait comes after it intercepted ten ships over the weekend, with one tanker reportedly hitting a mine on Sunday after trying to sail through an unapproved route, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed.
With Post wires