
Iran launched ballistic missile strikes on US-operated King Hussein and al-Azraq airbases in Jordan in retaliation for a US drone strike on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such Iranian strikes in a month and escalating a six-month conflict that has disrupted global oil transit and led to thousands of casualties.
AI-generated summary
The US-Iran conflict entered its sixth month, marked by reciprocal strikes, a failed April ceasefire, and a June memorandum of understanding that did not lead to a final peace deal. The US has since declared economic warfare on Iran, while the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, disrupting global oil transit.
Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on airbases in Jordan after the United States attacked Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, the first such strikes in a month.
“I can confirm that earlier today US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak island,” a US official said on Sunday. “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait of Hormuz.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said the US attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and would be met with a “response and punishment” from Tehran, Iranian state media reported.
In response, the IRGC “targeted technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities, and enemy fighter jet positions at the US-operated King Hussein and al-Azraq airbases in Jordan” with ballistic missiles, causing “heavy damage”, according to state TV.
A spokesperson said the US would pay for the attack economically and militarily, according to the semi-official news agency Fars.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the US attack was a drone strike.
On Sunday night, Reuters reported a US source as saying that all incoming missiles on US forces in Jordan had been intercepted with no significant impact so far.
The exchange of strikes came shortly after the US-Iran war hit the six-month mark, and at a time when hostilities had been subsiding.
The US said its attacks were aimed at preventing Iran from launching more sea mines into the strait, days after it announced it had completed clearing explosives from the strategic waterway.
Donald Trump said last week that all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait of Hormuz and Iran had been told that any ship or boat placing new mines would be destroyed.
The last known US strikes on Iran were in late July and the war has reached a stalemate in recent weeks, with Washington threatening to impose costly sanctions on countries that support Iran.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. The Iran war has now crossed its six-month mark.
Diplomatic efforts, spearheaded by mediators including Pakistan and Qatar, have tried for months to bring an end to the war to no avail.
While a ceasefire was agreed in April and a memorandum of understanding towards a final peace deal was signed in June, no agreement has been forthcoming and Washington has since declared “economic warfare” against Tehran.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Eighteen US service members have been killed in the conflict.
The war has led to the blockade of the strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict accounted for the transit of about a fifth of the world’s oil barrels consumed.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The US will impose additional sanctions on countries supporting Iran in response to the Jordan strikes.
Likely · Within weeks
Diplomatic mediators Pakistan and Qatar will renew efforts to negotiate a ceasefire following the latest escalation.
Possible · Within days

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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile and drone strikes on US military bases at King Hussein and Al Azraq in Jordan, calling it 'Punishment of the Aggressor' in response to a prior US attack on Larak Island in southern Iran that targeted missile launchers allegedly destined for the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange marks the first flare-up in violence since late July, with Iran claiming destruction of technical infrastructure and fighter deployment sites at the bases, while no injuries were reported. The strikes risk renewing military confrontation as the US shifts to financial pressure amid ongoing claims over control of the Strait of Hormuz, where oil prices remain high despite US assertions of protection, potentially impacting US midterm elections.

US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak island in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first known American strike on Iran since late July, according to a US official. The IRGC reported casualties and vowed retaliation, while Trump previously warned that any new mine-laying in the strait would be destroyed. The conflict has now passed its six-month mark, with thousands killed and millions displaced, and the strait blocked, disrupting a fifth of global oil transit.

The U.S. military conducted its first offensive operation in a month by attacking Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. official. The strike targeted forces preparing to launch mine-carrying rockets in the vital oil shipping lane, escalating tensions in a conflict that began in February with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. Iranian forces vowed retaliation, while the U.S. maintains the strait must remain open for global trade.