Iran launched new attacks against U.S. targets in the Middle East on Wednesday, escalating the ongoing conflict with the United States in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers. The Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for attacking 20 U.S. vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and a U.S. military base in Jordan.
These actions come as the U.S. and Iran remain locked in a stalemate six months into their war. Iran has maintained control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil and gas transit route, while the U.S. continues its efforts to disrupt Iranian ports and economy. The U.S. military stated its earlier actions were in response to Iran targeting an American warship, marking the second such incident in under a week.
In response to the strikes on U.S. targets, oil prices saw a significant increase in early Asian trading. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose to $99.46 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. contract, reached $94.45 per barrel, as the conflict threatened further disruption to crude supply from the Middle East.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also indicated that they would target oil tankers near U.S.-allied Kuwait and Bahrain, mirroring the U.S. strikes on its vessels. Minutes after the claims of attacking vessels, Iran's Guards announced they had struck the U.S. air base of Al-Azraq in Jordan with missiles, causing damage to maintenance facilities, deployment locations, and fighter jet shelters, according to state media.
Jordan's army reported intercepting and shooting down 18 missiles launched from Iran. The strikes followed Tehran's warning to crews on oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain to evacuate their vessels, asserting they would be targeted.
The recent escalation was triggered after U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers. The U.S. military confirmed it had instructed the crews to abandon ship before striking the vessels. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on Tuesday that Iran's attempts to target U.S. naval ships would result in the loss of Iranian tankers.
Iranian media reported that a U.S. missile struck a tanker off the coast of Kharg Island on Tuesday, with no reported casualties. The chief of staff of Iran's army, Ali Abdollahi, had previously warned that Iran would strike U.S. bases in the region if its oil tankers were hit.
Iran has asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, since the war began in February, leading to a near-paralysis of traffic through the waterway. Vessels are required to obtain permission and pay transit fees to use the strait.
Earlier this week, Iran's Guards also reported seizing an advanced unmanned American submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military described the drone as an "older model" that had malfunctioned and did not contain sensitive data.
Iranian state television also reported that the Guards had attacked two U.S. destroyers with ballistic missiles, though the U.S. military had not immediately commented on this specific report.
Meanwhile, in a separate but related development, the Iranian-backed Houthis attacked four cities in southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding 73 people and igniting fires at oil installations. The attacks, which targeted a Saudi airbase and state oil company assets, used drones and missiles and are considered among the largest against Saudi Arabia since the war began. The attacks have the potential to worsen the global economic impact of the war by disrupting energy supplies beyond the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis have also previously disrupted shipping at the entrance to the Red Sea.