The United States launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian military targets on Tuesday, triggering a sharp Iranian retaliation against US assets across the region and pushing the six-month-old Iran war into one of its most serious escalations in weeks. The US Central Command said its forces hit Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US positions in Jordan, Bahrain and northern Iraq.
The IRGC said its forces attacked US bases in Erbil, Iraq, destroying a repair facility, technical-equipment warehouses and a system used to control a US surveillance balloon. Fuel tanks were also set ablaze and the IRGC claimed several US personnel were killed. Neither Baghdad nor Washington had confirmed those claims. The Iran war has already disrupted regional security and energy markets, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to shipping.
Iran war intensifies as US targets key military and maritime sites
Iranian media reported several other US strikes, including a missile attack near Ahvaz and another at the civilian Jiroft airport in southeastern Iran. Explosions were also reported in Chabahar, Bandar Abbas and Asaluyeh, a major gas hub on the Gulf coast, while Iran’s state broadcaster reported blasts on Qeshm Island.
The attacks came after a weekend exchange of fire, the first since July. On Sunday, US forces struck Larak Island, while Iran fired missiles at two US air bases in Jordan. The Iran war had otherwise entered a month-long period of relative calm, with Washington and Tehran largely holding their fire while trading hostile statements.
Iran war puts Strait of Hormuz back at centre of crisis
The IRGC warned that the US strikes would “tighten the lock” on the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway carried about one in every five barrels of the world’s oil before the war. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, “If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil.”
The warning came after two tankers leaving the strait were attacked on Monday. Oil prices jumped by more than $4 a barrel on Tuesday and settled at a five-week high, adding fresh pressure from the Iran war to already strained global energy markets.
Iran war triggers strikes across Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq
The IRGC said it launched a heavy ballistic missile attack on a US base in Jordan and claimed it had “killed a large number of U.S. forces.” Two US officials said there were no casualties from the attack so far, while stressing that the assessment was preliminary. Jordan said its air defences dealt with 13 ballistic missiles, intercepting 10, while three fell in remote areas.
Iranian media also reported a large-scale drone attack on a US base in Bahrain. Bahrain said Iranian drones were intercepted and destroyed, while Kuwait said its air defences were responding to a hostile drone attack. Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, Tehran has repeatedly responded with missile and drone strikes on US allies.
Iran war leaves Trump warning of an even bigger attack
Trump warned Tehran against retaliating and threatened another strike “at a much harder and higher level.” He said, “But it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
The latest escalation also came as Washington prepared new sanctions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that fresh economic measures were coming, but Tehran has shown little sign of changing course despite decades of sanctions. Five people were killed and 50 wounded at a wedding near Sirik, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. Mehr reported that a four-year-old child was among those killed, while IRNA, citing a provincial official, reported 68 wounded. There was no immediate US reaction.
Trump also played down the chances of another ceasefire. The US and Iran reached a deal in June, but it quickly collapsed, largely over disputes about Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said, “I think an agreement with them isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. We gave them a lot of chances.” The latest fighting shows the Iran war has moved beyond a military confrontation into a wider battle over oil, shipping and economic pressure.
(with inputs from Reuters)
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Khalid Lateef is a Sub-Editor at NewsX Digital, specializing in Indian politics and global affairs. He also covers viral trending stories and major crime developments.
