Overview
- U.S. and Saudi forces carried out coordinated airstrikes on logistics and weapons sites used by Iran-aligned militias in eastern Iraq on Wednesday, and Iraqi militia groups reported dozens of fighters killed and wounded.
- U.S. Central Command said it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched from Iran in what it called an attempted surprise attack on American forces and that all incoming missiles were shot down.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said its navy stopped and struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after warning they took an "unsafe and illegal route," while the IRGC reiterated it asserts control over the waterway.
- Mediators from Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and others had made progress toward restarting talks, but the missile launches and the U.S.-Saudi strikes have undermined the pause in fighting and complicated negotiations over how to manage Hormuz traffic.
- Markets and military planners felt the impact as oil prices jumped more than $3 a barrel and U.S. officials and analysts warned that massed drone and missile tactics have strained U.S. air-defence interceptor stocks, raising the risk of further short-term escalation.