Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East and at a US base in Jordan overnight, ending a days-long pause in the US-Iran war, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on July 29.

The exchange marks the resumption of open hostilities after both sides had halted tit-for-tat strikes to give diplomacy a chance, and it comes as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz keeps oil markets on edge. Brent crude rose more than 4% on the news.

All the Iranian missiles were intercepted, CENTCOM said, and Jordan's military said its air defences brought down five of them. In response, the US and Saudi Arabia carried out joint air strikes on weapons and logistics sites belonging to Iran-aligned militias across eastern Iraq, local media reported.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Iraq's Iran-aligned Shia paramilitary umbrella group formally part of the country's security forces, said the strikes hit its bases in several Iraqi cities, including its headquarters in Basra, killing and wounding an unspecified number of fighters.

US CENTCOM said the strikes followed more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure over the preceding 72 hours. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones targeting its oil facilities for a second consecutive day.

The US-Saudi strikes killed at least 20 fighters and wounded 32 others across seven provinces, according to figures cited by the PMF.

The escalation has a second front in Iraq. Iranian forces have carried out at least 14 drone strikes since July 27 against camps of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, an opposition commander told AFP.

The Komala party, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) all said their bases were hit. This round caused material damage but no casualties, unlike a July 17 strike that killed nine Komala members near Sulaimaniyah. Iran accuses the groups, mostly relocated from Iranian territory, of serving Western and Israeli interests.

Tanker traffic through Hormuz, which came to a near-standstill in mid-July as the war first reignited, remains thin. Iran has rejected a proposal floated by Oman for joint management of the strait giving each side oversight of one direction of traffic, insisting instead on controlling both inbound and outbound vessels, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

The ICE gasoil crack, a proxy for diesel scarcity, has broken above $70 a barrel to a record, according to ING analysts, while OPEC+ is still expected to confirm a 188,000 b/d supply increase for September when it meets on August 2, likely the last before the group pauses further hikes.

The United Arab Emirates was not targeted in the latest exchanges. The Gulf state has been quietly restoring trade and diplomatic channels with Tehran in recent months despite deep mutual mistrust, even as missiles and drones struck several other US-aligned states in the region.