Cairo, July 28 -- Mediators have achieved progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, July 27, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region underscored the lingering tensions.

Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen meanwhile claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities as part of a separate but related conflict. It was unclear if they referred to the same attack.

Two drone attacks were reported against a Kurdish Iranian dissident group in Iraq, and Jordan said it had sh...