Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a US base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz.
The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April.
The Iranian strikes, which included attacks in Kuwait and Bahrain, came after the US military said on X it had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday.
“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday.
The escalation in violence deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran responded by firing on US bases and assets in Gulf countries and all but choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas.
The fresh Iranian strikes came after the United States carried out its own attacks on the Islamic Republic in response to Tehran shooting down an American helicopter.
The latest US strikes lasted around four hours before the US Central Command posted just before 9pm ET (0100 GMT on Wednesday) that they had ended. A US official said almost 20 Iranian targets had been struck.
Iran’s state media reported that Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.
Sounds of explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas, and later in the vicinity of Jask, near the entrance to the strait, Iranian media reported, citing local sources and residents.
Iranian forces fired “long-range missiles” and “targeted and destroyed four major targets” in Jordan, including F-35 fighter nests at an air base and the US command centre in Al-Azraq, the country’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement quoted by state-run IRNA news agency early on Wednesday.
Jordan’s military said it shot down five missiles from Iran, with no casualties or material damage.
The hostilities extended to other countries in the Middle East, with air raid sirens sounding in Bahrain after the Guards said they had struck another US base there.
The Kuwaiti army said its air defence systems were engaging hostile aerial targets and urged the public to follow official safety instructions, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the Ali Al-Salem base in Kuwait with drones.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said earlier they attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones and threatened “more severe responses” if hostilities continued, according to media.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said a warning siren had been sounded and urged the public to head to safety. Air defences had repelled Iranian attacks, a media adviser to Bahrain’s king said soon after.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened payback, saying on X: “The US [has] opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
Oil prices climbed about one per cent in early Asian trade on Wednesday following the escalation in hostilities.
Deal or no deal?
During the US strikes, Iranian media reported at least two series of explosions along Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours earlier, Trump had said talks to end the three-month-long war were in their final stages — a claim he has made repeatedly in the past few weeks.
Asked whether it would be a matter of days or weeks, the US leader said it would take “two or three days”.
But after the downing of the helicopter on Monday, Trump said in a telephone interview with ABC News that the United States was responding “in a strong manner”.
“And I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” he said.
The shaky ceasefire between Washington and Tehran already faced a serious test over the weekend when Iran and Israel briefly resumed their attacks, before later announcing a halt.
Iran has insisted any deal to end the war must include a truce in Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2.
Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that has killed more than 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have not stopped despite a nominal truce.
Lebanese officials said 11 people were killed in airstrikes on the southern city of Tyre on Tuesday.
The Israeli military also warned the entire city to evacuate.
An AFP correspondent saw residents of Tyre, including from the Christian quarter, fleeing and heavy traffic heading north after the Israeli warning.
Another correspondent in the coastal city of Sidon, further north, saw displaced people arriving from Tyre, some with belongings strapped to the roofs of their cars.
Strait on the edge
The renewed fighting has also overshadowed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global fuel supplies that Iran has virtually blockaded since the start of the war.
Crude prices jumped 1pc on Wednesday amid dimming prospects of a deal to reopen the strait, having fallen as much as 5pc at one point the previous day on optimism an agreement would be reached.
On Tuesday, Araghchi urged foreign forces to leave the strait and surrounding areas, warning that they faced a risk of being caught in the crossfire if they remained.
“The Strait of Hormuz is NOT international waters but shared between Iran and Oman,” Araghchi said. “Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk… [the] best solution is for them to leave,” he said.
The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April.
Centcom said the two crew members were rescued after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman.
Dawn – Homenone@none.com (ReutersAFP)Read More