Cairo/Washington; Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Wednesday it fired ballistic missiles at a base in Jordan used by US forces and attacked 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, escalating a six-month-old war after Washington said it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers a day earlier, Reuters reported.
A surge in reciprocal strikes has ended weeks of relative quiet, hitting military, shipping and energy targets, pushing oil prices higher and drawing in regional allies.
US officials said American forces took out five Iranian tankers on Tuesday. US Central Command released video of the strikes, calling them retaliation for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting a US Navy warship twice with ballistic missiles over the previous two days. No Americans were harmed, Washington said.
“Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia.
Iran then launched a ballistic missile attack on a base used by US forces near Al Azraq in Jordan, according to an IRGC statement carried by state media.
While Tehran said its missiles caused heavy damage, Jordan said its air defences intercepted 18 of 20 Iranian missiles, with two landing in unpopulated areas, and reported no casualties.
A US official described the Jordan strikes as ineffective and said all American troops were accounted for.
The IRGC said it also attacked 10 ships, including two US vessels and eight oil tankers, trying to cross a “prohibited and unsafe” zone in the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy artery largely choked off by Iranian action.
Iran has struck US assets and allies across the region throughout the war, including in Jordan on several occasions, killing at least two US military personnel in one attack in July.
Tehran has also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a statement aired by state media. A maritime security source said a liquefied natural gas tanker was damaged in the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan, though it was unclear who was responsible.
Oil Markets React
Oil prices extended gains in early trade on Wednesday, with Brent crude nearing $100 a barrel on concerns over disrupted tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Recent attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on top energy producer Saudi Arabia have added to supply worries.
Houthi Strikes Inside Saudi Arabia
On Tuesday, Houthi militants opened a new front against Saudi Arabia, launching strikes across several cities and deepening the crisis in the region.
The barrage wounded 73 people and sent plumes of smoke rising from burning oil infrastructure, signaling one of the boldest expansions yet of a war that erupted on Feb 28 with combined US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Controlling most of Yemen’s population centres, including Sanaa, the Houthis have compounded pressure on Washington’s Gulf partners by repeatedly choking maritime traffic at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, far from the Hormuz flashpoint.
In a statement, the group said its fighters had pushed deep into Saudi airspace and territory, unleashing drones and ballistic missiles against a key air base at Khamis Mushait and striking energy assets tied to the Saudi state oil giant in Abha, Najran and Jazan.
Saudi officials confirmed fires broke out at multiple locations and said the injured included women and children.