Iran and US exchange military strikes in Strait of Hormuz and Jordan

Iran says it has attacked US bases in Jordan and US military assets in the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for strikes on Larak Island in the first active exchange between the two sides since late July.

The Iranian response came after the United States claimed to have hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. A US official told Al Jazeera Arabic following the attack that the launchers were preparing to fire missiles carrying naval mines towards the waterway.

In his first comments since the attack, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was “not looking for war”, but would “never sit still in the face of any aggression” either.

Iran “will give a decisive response to the aggressors” if attacked, Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency Fars. “Instability and unrest in the region are not in the interest of any country and will challenge everyone.”

Here’s what we know so far and what could happen to the diplomatic efforts to end the six-month-old war that has disrupted global oil supply and jolted the global economy.

What happened?

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US attacks on Sunday night had killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers and civilians.

Iran’s Fars news agency also reported IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi accusing the US of making “a strategic and fatal mistake” for which it will face consequences “in both the economic and military arenas”.

But on Monday morning, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that the IRGC’s statement that the attack on Larak Island was an “act of aggression” was false, and said forces took “limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz”.

“In essence, Iran created the threat and the US military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce,” it added on X.

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that Kharg Island is being “blown to smithereens” in a post on his Truth Social platform. Iran has yet to comment on Trump’s claims.

Last week, the US president said all mines ‌had been detonated or removed from the waterway, and Iran was told that any ship or boat placing new mines would be destroyed.

What has been the response?

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the US strike on Larak Island in a statement as a “direct violation of national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

It added the attack caused civilian and military casualties.

Shortly after the US strikes, the IRGC said a combined missile and drone operation targeted the King Hussein and Al Azraq US military bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media.

The strikes “destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites”, causing significant damage, the IRGC said in a statement.

Tehran dubbed the strikes on Jordan as “a legitimate exercise of self-defence” under the UN Charter.

“Iranian armed forces launched retaliatory missile strikes against US military positions in Jordan, targeting bases identified as the launching ground for a Sunday night attack on Larak Island,” the statement said.

“Aggression and crimes will not solve the enemy’s desperation in attempting to weaken the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, and every attack will be met with even more devastating responses.”

At the same time, a US official told Al Jazeera Arabic that they were able to intercept Iran’s attacks against Jordan, adding that “the missile attack on US forces in Jordan proves that Iran is no longer the power it once was”.

They added that Tehran had launched medium-range ballistic missiles towards Jordan.

And in a statement released on Monday, Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles fired by Iran. “Air defence systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdom’s airspace at dawn today,” read the statement, quoting the army’s spokesperson.

Early on Monday morning, Iran’s Fars and Mehr news agencies cited a statement from the IRGC that said its air defences had intercepted “a long-range American MQ9 drone” over the Strait of Hormuz, which then fell into the Gulf.

Harlan Ullman, a retired US senior naval officer, told Al Jazeera that the attacks on Jordan were a “political statement”.

“They are signalling to Jordan that it is a target,” he said.

“It is a politically significant target,” he said, adding that the Iranian attack was carried out “with malice aforethought, not necessarily to impose damage on the Americans, but to tell the Jordanians: Are you sure you want to support the Americans?”

Iran’s army also said in a statement carried by Iranian news agencies that dozens of drones were launched at US military assets at the Al Menhad airbase in the UAE.

It said the attack targeted ⁠locations where US forces ⁠and helicopters were stationed at ⁠the base, adding that it was revenge for members of the IRGC and civilians who had been killed during the attack on Larak Island.

On Monday morning, the UAE’s Ministry of Defence said its air force responded to a drone over its territorial waters, approaching from Iran. The ministry, however, rejected Iranian claims that its airbase was targeted.

Still, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would respond decisively to any further military aggression and said the US and parties supporting its actions were fully responsible for any escalation.

What does this mean?

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo explained that the tit-for-tat exchanges are the scenario that US diplomats who have been working with other countries to bring a diplomatic off-ramp did not want.

“The Trump administration has been signalling over the course of the last week that talks have deteriorated, that diplomacy has lost momentum, and we have seen that shift in strategy away from kinetic action and towards economic pressure,” Rapalo said.

“This is something that the treasury secretary spoke about specifically on Sunday, saying that there would be more sanctions coming up in the next few days,” he said, referring to economic sanctions targeting entities accused of doing business with Iran.

Last week, the US announced the latest sanctions on Iran in what officials called an “economic D-Day” and officially named “Operation Economic Outcast”, as Washington intensifies pressure on Tehran six months into the war.

Tehran, which has been under US sanctions for decades, says the new economic pressure will fail and shows that the US’s military approach has not worked.