Iran strikes US positions in Jordan and Gulf states
Iran said on Monday it had launched strikes targeting US military positions in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, in response to Washington's first attack on Iranian territory in a month. The exchange marks a fresh flare-up in the six-month war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran's Revolutionary Guards said it struck two US military air bases with ballistic missiles in Jordan, causing "heavy damage," according to Iranian state media. The Guards also said the US Marine Corps base Camp Titin in Jordan was targeted for an "intense ballistic missile attack," as reported by the Iranian news outlet Tasnim.
The Jordanian army said it intercepted ten ballistic missiles fired from Iran, without confirming any injuries or hits on the US training camp located on the Gulf of Aqaba, near the borders with Israel and Saudi Arabia. Three other missiles landed in remote areas, the army said. Earlier reports from the Jordanian army had said eight missiles were intercepted, without stating their origin.
Missile and drone attacks were also reported in Kuwait, where the army said it was responding to Iranian hostilities. Reporters in Bahrain heard alert sirens for airborne attacks go off early in the morning.
US strikes on Larak island
The Iranian strikes came after the US revealed on Sunday that it had attacked Iranian rocket launchers on Larak, a small island in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington 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.
"US forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command wrote in a post on X.
"Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes," said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command. "US forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway," he added.
The Revolutionary Guards said the US strikes resulted in casualties.
Civilian casualties reported
The Iranian Red Crescent said shrapnel from a US missile attack hit a home where a wedding celebration was taking place in the city of Kuhestak, killing four people, including a child, and wounding more than 50. The official IRNA news agency said that "four projectiles hit areas within the counties of Chabahar and Konarak," without specifying whether there was any damage.
Asked if the US military had received any credible reports of civilian casualties from the strikes, Captain Hawkins said "the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC."
US President Donald Trump said the strikes were "in retaliation for the Iranians' failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait" and "the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan."
Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi warned on X that "severe punishment awaits the aggressors."
Greek maritime risk management firm Marisks said two crude tankers were hit by "unknown projectiles."
A war of attrition and economic pressure
The exchange of fire came just days after the war hit the six-month mark amid little to no visible progress in negotiations between the two sides to end it. In recent weeks, Trump and his administration prioritised "economic warfare" over military strikes on Iran amid intense domestic and international pressure to end the military campaign, which Washington said would be short-lived but has since extended to months with no end in sight.
Tehran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic sea lane through which around one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the war started on 28 February. Iran has conducted near-daily missile and drone strikes against US facilities and allies in Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. Diplomatic efforts were spearheaded by Qatar and Pakistan. A ceasefire was agreed in April and a memorandum of understanding towards a final peace deal was signed in June.
A US naval counterblockade of Iranian ports is squeezing petrol supplies. The last US strike on Iran prior to Sunday's came on 29 July. Earlier in July, CENTCOM attacked Iran for 13 consecutive nights.
Oil prices rose after news of the renewed US strikes; Brent crude climbed above $90 per barrel. During the peak of fighting, oil prices surpassed $120 per barrel.