Iran Hits U.S. Bases Directly, Raising the Stakes Beyond Proxy Warfare

Iran directly attacked U.S. military sites in late July 2026, abandoning its usual reliance on proxy militias — allied armed groups fighting on Iran's behalf. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia retaliated with joint airstrikes on those militias in eastern Iraq on July 29. Iraqi armed groups called it a "dangerous escalation," stoking fears of tit-for-tat strikes between nations.