Iran attacked US military targets in the Middle East in response to the first US raids on its territory in a month. Thus begins a new escalation of the war that is engulfing the region: the Guardians of the Revolution said they responded to yesterday’s American attack by hitting two US air bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles and causing “serious damage”.
The Jordanian military said it had intercepted eight missiles, without specifying their origin, while the United Arab Emirates said it had “confronted a drone threat” from Iran over its territorial waters after Tehran said it had targeted US military personnel at a local air base and shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
Yesterday the United States announced that it had attacked Iranian rocket launchers on the small island of Larak. Washington said its strikes were aimed at preventing Iran from placing more sea mines in the strait, days after the United States announced it had completed clearing the stretch of sea. “US forces took limited and precise actions against mine-laying forces that posed an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Forces Central Command said.
The Pasdaran reported that the US strikes caused “casualties” and that their subsequent attack on Jordan was “a response to Zionist-American air aggression.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also condemned the US attacks in Larak and justified the attacks in Jordan as “legitimate defense”. “We do not seek war, but we will give a decisive response to the aggressors,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian added in a statement carried by state television before going to Kyrgyzstan for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the bloc that aims to counter Western influence, together with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The exchange of fire between the United States and Iran came at a time when the Trump administration appeared to have prioritized “economic warfare” over military attacks.
“US forces are closely monitoring the area and remain ready to protect the free flow of commerce through this vital waterway,” said Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command.
The last US attack against Iran before yesterday was on July 29, in response to “an attempted surprise attack against US forces” in the region. In early July, Centcom attacked Iran for 13 consecutive nights, and Iran retaliated by striking US installations and allies in the Gulf region, including targets in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.