The US-Iran conflict appears to have entered a new phase, with Saudi Arabia publicly joining military action against Iran-backed groups as diplomatic efforts to end the war stall amid deepening mistrust between Washington and Tehran.
After several days of relative calm, both sides carried out military strikes over the past 24 hours, fuelling fears of renewed full-scale fighting and a broader regional escalation. At the same time, uncertainty remains over whether either side has a clear strategy for ending the conflict. Recent reporting confirms US-Saudi strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and renewed Iranian missile attacks, underscoring the widening regional dimension of the war.
While President Donald Trump and his allies have claimed that Iran is ready to return to negotiations, Iran's deputy foreign minister said Tuesday that Tehran had not requested a resumption of diplomatic talks for more than two weeks.
After an attempted Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan was thwarted, Trump renewed his threats against Iran on Wednesday while leaving open the possibility of further negotiations.
"They've already apologized, but, you know, we got to smack them a little bit," Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. "It's our turn, and we'll see if we get there with an agreement at some point. But we're going to hit them very hard."
Hours later, the US military said it had launched "a powerful response" to the attempted attacks on US forces in the Middle East, although it did not immediately provide details about the targets.
The latest developments reflect a pattern seen repeatedly in recent months, with Trump alternating between suggesting that a deal to end the conflict and address Iran's nuclear programme could be reached and threatening further military action to pressure Tehran.
The stakes are particularly high for Trump and his Republican Party as the conflict disrupts the global economy ahead of the November midterm elections. Renewed fighting has also resulted in additional US military casualties and intensified concerns over dwindling stocks of key air-defence interceptors.
Saudi Arabia joins the fighting
Iran said it had fired ballistic missiles at Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a major US military facility in the region. Trump said the missiles were intercepted, while Jordanian authorities said five Iranian missiles had been destroyed.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has joined the United States in strikes against logistics and weapons facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The joint action followed drone attacks targeting Saudi territory and marks another major escalation in the regional conflict.
Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman was in Washington on Wednesday, where he met separately with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, according to people familiar with the meetings.
Drone attacks also caused fires on two natural gas vessels at a port in Egypt, another close US ally and regional mediator. If the attacks are confirmed to have been carried out by Iran or its allies, they could represent a significant expansion of the conflict.
The US-Saudi strikes came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left his first meeting with Trump since the US and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28.
An Israeli official briefed on the meeting said Netanyahu assured Trump that Washington, rather than Israel, was leading policy towards Iran. The statement appeared aimed at countering suggestions that Netanyahu and Trump may be diverging over the future course of the conflict.
Israeli officials have privately expressed concern that Trump may seek to keep the conflict at a lower intensity as the midterm elections approach. They are also worried about rising oil prices and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy route. Additional concerns centre on the rapid depletion of US missile-interceptor stocks.
A recent analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies said continued fighting with Iran has further reduced US stocks of Patriot and THAAD interceptors, potentially increasing risks to American troops and allies if hostilities intensify.
Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has also warned Trump that the condition of US munitions stocks could affect military operations against Iran, according to a US official.
Diplomacy stalls
The Trump administration currently appears to lack a clear strategy for restarting negotiations with Iran over ending the conflict.
Although mediators have been working to revive talks or establish conditions for their resumption, the administration is not actively pursuing negotiations at present, according to a senior US official cited in the report.
Analysts say the uncertainty is rooted largely in deepening mistrust between Washington and Tehran, particularly after an interim ceasefire proposal reached in mid-June collapsed.
Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, said senior Iranian officials had initially been broadly supportive of an understanding with the United States but now viewed Trump as an unreliable negotiating partner.
The repeated cycle of negotiations, breakdowns and military strikes has deep historical roots.
Since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, relations with the United States have been marked by failed negotiations, diplomatic setbacks and military confrontations, although the current conflict is considerably more serious than previous episodes.
The 2015 nuclear agreement, reached under President Barack Obama, represented the most significant diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran in decades. But Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement in 2018, followed by a "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign and the 2020 killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, pushed bilateral relations to new lows.
