On Tuesday, a fragile pause in the US-Iran conflict unravelled when Tehran launched multiple ballistic missiles toward a US military base in Jordan in what US Central Command described as an "attempted surprise attack".

Tehran's actions have now prompted the US and Saudi warplanes to carry out strikes against Iran-backed militants in Iraq.

But does this mean both warring countries — the US and Iran — are again forgoing negotiations? Let's try to understand what's going on.

Iran launches 'surprise attack' at US base

On Tuesday, Iran targeted US forces in West Asia with several ballistic missiles, said US Central Command (Centcom).

"At 5.45 pm ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East," US Central Command (Centcom) wrote on X on Tuesday.

All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted, Centcom said in the statement, adding that US forces "remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness".