Iran targets U.S. base in Jordan after Trump orders strikes

Iran and the United States lurched back toward open confrontation after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck a US base in Jordan and 21 other targets across the Gulf, retaliating for American attacks around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media.

The fighting amounts to one of the most serious bursts of hostilities since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in April.

The Iranian attacks, which also hit Kuwait and Bahrain, followed US strikes that the military said on X targeted Iranian air defence systems, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait. The operation came after US President Donald Trump said an American Apache helicopter had been brought down there yesterday.

“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Mr Trump told ABC News.

Tehran answered by targeting Gulf states that host US forces and by moving to nearly shut the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil and gas supplies.

The latest US operation lasted about four hours. A US official said nearly 20 Iranian targets were hit.

Iranian state media said the strikes reached Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz.

Explosions were also reported in nearby Bandar Abbas and later around Jask, close to the entrance of the strait, Iranian media said, citing local sources and residents.

In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had used long-range missiles to hit four sites at the US al-Azraq base in Jordan, Iranian media reported.

The Guards said the targets included hangars housing F-35 fighter jets and a command-and-control centre, and warned they stood ready to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any further US attack.

Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted and destroyed five missiles fired from Iran toward al-Azraq. The military said debris from the interceptions landed inside Jordan but caused no injuries or material damage.

The Kuwaiti army said its air defence systems were confronting hostile aerial targets and urged the public to follow official safety guidance, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait with drones.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones and warned of “more severe responses” if the conflict continued, according to media reports.

Pro-government supporters gather at a rally in Tehran

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said warning sirens were sounded and urged people to seek shelter. Soon after, a media adviser to Bahrain’s king said in a post on X that the country’s air defences had repelled the Iranian attacks.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial assessments indicated nearly all missiles and drones launched by Iran had been intercepted, and that there were no immediate reports of harm to US personnel or damage to US sites.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.

Oil prices rose about 1% in early Asian trading after the latest escalation.

Yesterday, a US Apache helicopter was downed by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mr Trump said the two US pilots involved were not injured.

Iranian state media, citing a military source, said no offensive air operations had been carried out in the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours.

The US military said a Navy surface drone located and rescued the two crew members after the Army attack helicopter went down in waters off Oman’s coast while on patrol at around midnight Irish time on Monday.

US Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the crew were rescued after two hours and were in stable condition, a notably more cautious description than Mr Trump’s account.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi did not directly address the helicopter incident, but wrote in a post on X that foreign forces in the region risk being caught in accidents or crossfire.

Watch: Donald Trump says an Iran deal was just ‘two or three days’ away

“To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave,” ⁠he wrote.

Mr Trump also told The Wall Street Journal in a phone call yesterday that the helicopter incident “wasn’t a big deal” and emphasised that “the pilot is fine”.

Even so, the episode threatens to place new pressure on already fragile efforts to secure a peace deal, end the broader Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Trump has repeatedly said Washington and Tehran are nearing an agreement, although there have been few visible signs of progress since a fragile ceasefire came into force in early April.

Clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon have continued, while Tehran has kept restrictions in place on most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war handled a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

Washington, for its part, has imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said ship traffic through Hormuz is increasing “very meaningfully,” but cautioned that it would take many months after the war ends for energy flows to return to normal.

Mr Trump has said any peace ‌deal must guarantee that Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking one.

Iran’s demands include lifting international sanctions, releasing billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognising its control of the strait.

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