LEILA FADEL, HOST:
More attacks between the U.S. and Iran are increasing fears of a return to all-out war.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
U.S. Central Command says it launched a wave of airstrikes overnight, while U.S. bases in Jordan came under Iranian attack. Saudi Arabia joined Americans' attacks in Iraq on Wednesday. In a few minutes, we'll speak with a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratney, about those developments. But we're going to begin with the view from the ground.
FADEL: NPR's Jane Arraf joins us now to talk about this from Amman, Jordan. Good morning, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So just a few days ago, it looked as if the U.S. and Iran were pausing attacks to give diplomacy a try, and now we're back to attacks. What happened?
ARRAF: CENTCOM says it launched a heavy wave of strikes against Iran overnight. It said the targets included military command centers and missile facilities. That's in retaliation for what the U.S. military called a surprise Iranian attack on Wednesday at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in the Jordanian desert, where the U.S. has a major military presence. It's also where three U.S. soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack this month. Iran itself launched more missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan on Thursday. The U.S. and Jordan said they were shot down. But A lot of analysts see this as Iran testing the U.S. under a harder-line regime that succeeded Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the U.S. at the beginning of the war.
FADEL: Yeah. And then the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which has not been publicly involved before, attacked Iraq. Tell us what's happening there.
ARRAF: Yeah. Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran-backed militias in Iraq for damaging attacks on one of its major oil refineries. But the Iraqi government says Saudi Arabia has never provided any evidence. In retaliation, the U.S. and Saudi on Wednesday launched a wave of airstrikes against at least seven militia bases, killing at least 20 people.
And the key thing is, you know, Leila, these are militias fostered and supported by Iran that flourished after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Some of them are now officially part of government forces. So that puts the new Iraqi prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, in a huge bind. He promised President Trump in a Washington meeting that he would bring those militias fully under government control. But given how powerful they are both in security and politics, it's proved impossible for previous governments and could be equally difficult for him.
FADEL: So the conflict is widening even further, it seems. What happens now with Iraq?
ARRAF: Well, there's definitely heightened tension. The Iraqi prime minister held an emergency security meeting yesterday. Iraq has rejected attacks on its sovereignty, which is a reference to U.S. and Saudi strikes. And they've noted that U.S. forces have already withdrawn from Iraqi bases at the Iraqi request. They are, of course, those still in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Fighters and Iranian security advisers who were killed in those strikes were buried yesterday. Here's a bit of what that sounded like.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Speaking Arabic).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Arabic).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Speaking Arabic).
ARRAF: That funeral procession in Baghdad included chants of death to Saudi rulers and death to America. The chief of staff of paramilitary groups attached to the Iraqi Defense Ministry said no one can disarm them. And the Iran-backed militias themselves, who call themselves the resistance, gave the Iraqi government a deadline of next Thursday to respond to the U.S.-Saudi attacks.
That deadline is a day after a hugely significant Shia religious commemoration already underway. It's where millions of people gather in Karbala - the holy city of Karbala. It's a monthlong event where religious sentiment is particularly high, commemorating the Battle of Karbala and the killing of Imam Husayn 1,400 years ago. Many Shias believe what's happening now continues what they see as a historical injustice.
FADEL: That's NPR's Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan. Thank you, Jane.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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