Jorden(National Times)- The US military completed a \u201cheavy wave of strikes\u201d against Iran on Thursday in retaliation for Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, as fighting intensified in the Middle East war after a nearly week-long pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reignited hostilities appear to have dashed hopes of a quick return to negotiations between the foes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran \u201chard\u201d after Tehran launched missiles at Jordan, its first regional strike in days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American forces \u201csuccessfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran\u201d, and struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets including military command centres, US Central Command (Centocom) said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s state news agency IRNA reported hits on several cities in the southwestern Khuzestan province, as well as on Qeshm island in the Gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Areas around the cities of Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz \u2014 all in Khuzestan \u2014 were struck, the agency said, citing provincial authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attack on Qeshm island killed three people, including a two-year-old, the Fars news agency reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA US attack on a residential home in the Chah Tangu neighbourhood of Qeshm killed three members of a family: the father, the mother, and their 2-year-old child,\u201d Fars reported citing the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, adding that two other children were injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a sign of the war\u2019s spread, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced strikes on Wednesday on militant bases in Iraq, while US ally Israel accused Hezbollah of a truce violation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world\u2019s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia has reported two days of drone attacks targeting crude facilities that it blames on Iraqi armed groups allied with Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Jordan\u2019s army said on Thursday it had intercepted five Iranian missiles, after Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US bases there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs long as the threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue \u2026 the resistance will continue,\u201d the IRGC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On another front, Israel accused Hezbollah of deploying a drone overnight against an Israeli vehicle inside Lebanon, in what the military called \u201ca blatant violation of the ceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel fought alongside the United States 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Dangerous\u2019
In Iraq, the joint US-Saudi air operation followed attacks by what Riyadh called \u201cterrorist militias loyal to Iran\u201d on its oil facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US military said logistics and weapons sites belonging to an Iran-aligned group were targeted in the strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iraq\u2019s Hashed al-Shaabi alliance said the attacks killed at least 20 of its members. It denounced a \u201cdangerous escalation\u201d against an \u201cofficial security institution\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two Hashed officials said five Iranian advisers were among those killed, and AFP correspondents saw coffins draped with Iranian flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iraq denounced the US-Saudi strikes and said it rejects \u201call acts of aggression, regardless of the party responsible or the justifications presented\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministerial Council for National Security said it would \u201cconfront any violation of Iraq\u2019s sovereignty, and prevent any source from using Iraqi territory to threaten neighbouring states\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Fox News, however, Trump said the strikes were \u201ccoordinated with the Iraqi government\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strikes follow growing US pressure on Iraq to disarm pro-Iran groups. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited both the US and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red Sea
The United States had said the days-long cessation in fighting was aimed at kickstarting a new round of negotiations, including over the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded throughout much of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they had attacked and stopped three tankers in the strait, insisting Iran has \u201cfull control\u201d of the waterway that was previously free to transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tehran has insisted it will retain control of the crucial conduit for energy shipments, and has also announced plans to collect fees for passage, which Washington opposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crude oil prices slipped on Thursday after a jump the day before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US also announced new sanctions targeting entities linked to Iran\u2019s Guards that it accused of extorting ships transiting the strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Iran war began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jorden(National Times)- The US military completed a \u201cheavy wave of strikes\u201d against Iran on Thursday in retaliation for Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, as fighting intensified in the Middle East war after a nearly week-long pause. The reignited hostilities appear to have dashed hopes of a quick return to negotiations between the foes. US […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n