WASHINGTON — A new round of fighting between Iran and the United States unfolded in late July after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East, U.S. Central Command said.
CENTCOM said IRGC forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iranian territory at 5:45 p.m. ET on July 28 in what it called an attempted surprise attack on American troops. The command said every missile was intercepted. More than 50,000 U.S. service members were deployed across the region at the time and remained on high alert. Axios, citing a U.S. official, reported the missiles were aimed at a U.S. base in Jordan. Tehran later confirmed it had fired at U.S. troops there.
**Joint strikes in eastern Iraq**
The same day, U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck logistics and weapons sites in eastern Iraq that CENTCOM said were tied to Iran-aligned armed groups. The command said the groups had been directed by the IRGC to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure after more than 30 drone attacks in the previous 72 hours.
Saudi Arabia said the operation was carried out in coordination with CENTCOM and described it as self-defense after drones launched from Iraq targeted oil facilities. Iran denied involvement in attacks on Saudi targets. Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces said at least 20 of its members were killed in the U.S.-Saudi strikes.
CENTCOM also cited a wider pattern, saying Iran-aligned militias in Iraq carried out more than 600 attempted attacks on U.S. citizens and facilities between February and April 2026. That figure is a U.S. military assessment, not an independently verified count.
**Follow-on strikes inside Iran**
The fight widened again on July 29. CENTCOM said U.S. forces completed a “heavy wave” of strikes at 10 p.m. ET against dozens of IRGC targets inside Iran, including command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime assets. The command said the aim was to reduce threats to U.S. forces, commercial shipping and neighboring Gulf states.
Iranian officials and state media reported strikes in several areas, including around Ahvaz and on Qeshm Island, where local authorities said civilians were among the dead and injured. Those casualty claims have not been independently confirmed by U.S. officials.
**A wider regional war**
The July sequence tied together several fronts: Iranian missiles toward U.S. positions, American and Saudi aircraft hitting Iran-linked sites in Iraq, and U.S. strikes on IRGC infrastructure inside Iran. Fighting and attacks have also continued around the Persian Gulf, Yemen and the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for commercial shipping.
Saudi Arabia has faced repeated drone and missile threats from Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen as well as attacks launched from Iraq. For Washington, the late-July barrage showed U.S. troops remain exposed both to Iranian missiles and to militias operating from neighboring countries. For Tehran, the U.S. strikes hit the IRGC’s military network and its regional partners.
With operations spanning Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, the July 28–29 exchange became another major episode in a conflict in which moves on one front quickly trigger action on another.
