US, Saudis attack Iran-backed groups in Iraq, threatening to intensify conflict

By Timour Azhari, Parisa Hafezi and Ahmed Tolba DUBAI/CAIRO, July 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday, saying they were responsible for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, prompting Iran to warn that blaming it for such attacks was a "major miscalculation". The strikes on targets inside Iraq come as Oman proposed a new regional deal aimed at resolving the conflict over the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.