Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired ballistic missiles at American forces in Jordan and attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz after the US said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, in a sharp escalation in the six-month war.
The IRGC, in a statement issued on Wednesday morning, said it targeted two US warships, eight oil tankers and 10 vessels that it accused of attempting to cross a “prohibited and unsafe” zone in the Strait of Hormuz. It said the attacks inflicted “extensive damage” – claims that have not been independently verified.
The attack came soon after the IRGC had issued a threat against oil tankers in the vicinity of the ports and harbours of Bahrain and Kuwait, “whether they are at anchor or berthed”.
The exchange is the latest in a flare-up at sea that began a week ago with US strikes on Iranian oil tankers – under what has been described as a new “tanker-for-tanker” policy approved by President Donald Trump. On September 2, the US military struck two Iranian government tankers. Three more were struck on Saturday after Iran fired missiles at two American warships.
US Central Command said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers and released video of the overnight strikes, describing them as retaliation for the IRGC targeting a US Navy warship twice with ballistic missiles over the past two days. No Americans were harmed. Shipping monitor TankerTrackers said satellite imagery indicated the US strikes targeted one very large crude carrier (VLCC) and two Suezmax vessels.
Centcom, which oversees US military operations across the Middle East, said the tankers were part of a shadow network funding the IRGC and its proxies, including Hamas in Palestine, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen's Houthi rebels.
“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Jordan repels ballistic missiles
Iran responded to the destruction of its five tankers with a ballistic missile attack on Al Azraq airbase in Jordan targeting US F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter jets, the IRGC said in a statement posted on Telegram.
Jordan's armed forces said the kingdom came under a missile attack originating from Iranian territory, with air defence systems engaging 20 ballistic missiles. “Eighteen missiles were successfully intercepted and destroyed”, while two fell in unpopulated areas, an armed forces spokesman said. No casualties were reported.
Iran has struck US assets and allies in the region repeatedly during the war, including previous attacks in Jordan, one of which killed at least two American service members in July.
The escalation followed a Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, in which the Iran-aligned group struck a Saudi airbase in Khamis Mushait, and state oil company sites in Abha, Najran and Jazan using drones and missiles.
Saudi authorities reported fires at the targeted sites and said the injured included women and children.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen's populated territory including the capital Sanaa, have disrupted shipping near the Red Sea entrance and have now expanded their reach deeper into Saudi territory.
Saudi Arabia has led an Arab military coalition against Houthi rebels for more than a decade, and a ceasefire in that conflict recently broke down.
The wider Gulf war, which began on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has developed into a standoff between Washington and Tehran, with each side betting that rival blockades and economic pressure will force the other to back down.
The US has sought to keep oil flowing to global markets by escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz while working to cut off Iran's own exports through a blockade.
Iran has moved to choke shipping through the strait it does not officially control, striking vessels it says are crossing without authorisation and warning tanker crews in Gulf ports that they remain targets.
The IRGC statement on the 10 ships said the vessels “suffered significant damage”, though the claim, like earlier Iranian accounts of strikes on US-linked shipping, could not be independently confirmed.
