In a dramatic escalation of the six-month-old conflict, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at a US base in Jordan and attacked 10 ships on Wednesday. The attacks followed the US claim that it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.
The latest attacks have ended a month of relative calm as the US and Iran intensify strikes on military, shipping and energy facilities. The escalation has pushed up oil prices and drawn regional allies into the conflict.
Iran attack on US base in Jordan comes after United States Central Command released video footage documenting the destruction of five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday, framing the strikes as a direct response to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy cruiser over the preceding two days.
U.S. officials reported no American casualties resulting from the incident. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia said that, “Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers.”
According to an IRGC announcement on Iranian state television, Iran later launched a ballistic missile attack on a US military base near Al Azraq in Jordan.
Jordan said its air defences intercepted 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles, while the remaining two landed in uninhabited areas. Authorities reported no casualties, despite Iran’s claim that its missiles caused significant damage. A US official said Iran’s strikes in Jordan failed to achieve their objectives and confirmed that all American forces remained present.
Backstory…
The IRGC also attacked 10 ships on Wednesday, including two US vessels and eight oil tankers, as they attempted to cross a section of the Strait of Hormuz that Iran had declared “prohibited and unsafe.” Iranian attacks have largely blocked the crucial energy route.
Throughout the conflict, Iran has repeatedly targeted US allies and military assets in the region, particularly in Jordan. An Iranian strike in July killed at least two US military personnel.
The latest escalation between the United States and Iran is essentially a tit-for-tat confrontation that has now moved directly into the oil and shipping lanes around the Strait of Hormuz.
The immediate trigger was an Iranian attack on a U.S. Navy warship. According to U.S. Central Command, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attempted to strike the American vessel with ballistic missiles on two occasions. The U.S. said the warship avoided the attacks and there were no American casualties.
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