The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that mediators have made progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, after both sides paused attacks after a period of rapidly escalating tensions. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe says, however, that 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. Neither the U.S. nor Iran reported carrying out any attacks for three days -- a respite after two weeks of sustained bombardments that had led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war. President Donald Trump claimed Iran had asked for more discussions, reaching out directly "because we've been hitting them very hard." Iran denied speaking directly to the U.S. Experts have questioned how long both the U.S. and Iran can afford to keep up attacks. Tehran said Iran halted its attacks after the American pause.