Iran has launched a retaliatory assault on US military positions in the Middle East, marking a sharp escalation after Washington carried out its first strikes on Iranian territory in a month.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said ballistic missiles hit two US air bases in Jordan, causing “heavy damage”.
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Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles but did not identify where they had been fired from.
The Guards also claimed to have shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington said the strikes were intended to stop Iran from laying additional sea mines in the strait, just days after the US announced that it had finished removing explosives from the vital waterway.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has prioritised ‘economic warfare’ in recent weeks
“US forces took limited, precise action against IRGC (Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’) minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command wrote on X.
The Revolutionary Guards said the American strikes had caused “casualties” and described the missile attack on Jordan as a response to “US-Zionist aerial aggression”.
Trump posts AI video of Iran’s Kharg in ‘smithereens’
US President Donald Trump has shared an AI-generated video that he said showed Iran’s oil hub, Kharg Island, being “blown to smithereens”.
It was unclear whether the post represented a threat against Kharg Island or suggested that an attack was already under way.
Several hours later, there was no evidence that Kharg had been attacked.
“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without offering further details.
Reuters found that the accompanying footage, which showed dramatic explosions, was most likely synthetically generated, based on analysis by software designed to detect manipulated imagery.
Kharg handled 90% of Iran’s oil exports before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on 28 February. Any strike on the island would severely disrupt the country’s energy trade and place enormous additional pressure on its economy.
‘Not seeking war’
“We are not seeking war, but we will deliver a decisive response to the aggressors,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement quoted by state television.
Mr Pezeshkian made the comments before travelling to Kyrgyzstan for a summit of a bloc seeking to act as a counterweight to the West. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping were also due to attend.
The exchange of fire came soon after the US-Iran war passed the six-month mark, as fighting had appeared to be easing.
In recent weeks, Donald Trump’s administration has placed greater emphasis on “economic warfare” against Iran than on launching military strikes.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping route that carried nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil before the United States and Israel began hostilities with attacks on Iran on 28 February.
“Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command.
“US forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” he said.
Unpopular war
Diplomatic initiatives led by mediators including Pakistan and Qatar have spent months trying to end the conflict.
A ceasefire was reached in April and a memorandum of understanding aimed at a final peace agreement was signed in June. But no comprehensive deal has followed, while Washington has since declared “economic warfare” against Tehran.
A US naval counterblockade of Iranian ports is tightening the squeeze on petrol supplies as Iran faces a shortfall in domestic production and Washington intensifies the pressure.
The April ceasefire ended the heaviest fighting, but intermittent attacks—particularly around the Strait of Hormuz—have continued to undermine hopes of a lasting peace agreement.
The Strait of Hormuz carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil shipments before the war
The most recent US strike on Iran took place on 29 July, after what the US military described as “an attempted surprise attack on US forces” in the region.
Earlier in July, CENTCOM carried out attacks on Iran for 13 consecutive nights.
During the war, Iran has retaliated by targeting US facilities and American allies across the Gulf, including sites in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent economic shock waves around the world, driving up prices and contributing to shortages of fertilizer and energy.
Oil prices climbed after news of the US strikes. North Sea Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved back above the symbolic $90-a-barrel mark, while West Texas Intermediate rose above $85.
The war remains deeply unpopular among the US public, with November’s midterm elections potentially threatening Republican control of Congress.
In a statement issued on Friday, US Senator Jack Reed criticised Mr Trump over the conflict.
“Six months later, not a single objective has been achieved,” said Senator Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“Indeed, he has weakened our position in the Middle East and the world significantly.”
