Zürcher Nachrichten - US military completes 'heavy wave' of retaliatory strikes on Iran

The reignited hostilities have drawn in the Islamic republic's proxies, and appear to have dashed hopes of a quick return to negotiations between the foes.

US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran "hard" after Tehran launched missiles at Jordan, its first regional strike in days.

American forces "successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran", and struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets including military command centres, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported hits on several cities in the southwestern Khuzestan province, as well as on Qeshm island in the Gulf.

Areas around the cities of Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz -- all in Khuzestan -- were struck, the agency said, citing provincial authorities.

In a sign of the war's spread, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced strikes Wednesday on militant bases in Iraq, while US ally Israel accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of a truce violation.

The world's 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.

Jordan's army said it had intercepted five Iranian missiles, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US bases there.

"As long as the threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue... the resistance will continue," the IRGC said.

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 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.

- 'Dangerous' -

In Iraq, the 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 targeted in the strikes.

Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi alliance said the attacks killed at least 20 of its members.

It denounced a "dangerous escalation" against an "official security institution".

Two Hashed officials said five Iranian advisors were among those killed, and AFP correspondents saw coffins draped with Iranian flags.

The Hashed al-Shaabi alliance, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, was created in 2014 to fight jihadists before its integration into the military.

It includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups reputed for acting unilaterally.

Iraq denounced the US-Saudi strikes and said it rejects "all acts of aggression, regardless of the party responsible or the justifications presented".

The Ministerial Council for National Security said it would "confront any violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and prevent any source from using Iraqi territory to threaten neighbouring states".

According to Fox News, however, Trump said the strikes were "coordinated with the Iraqi government".

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.

- 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.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had attacked and stopped three tankers in the strait, insisting Iran has "full control" of the waterway that was previously free to transit.

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.

Crude oil prices slipped on Thursday after a jump the day before.

The United States also announced new sanctions targeting entities linked to Iran's Guards that it accused of extorting ships transiting the strait.

O.Meier--NZN