The US military’s Central Command said it carried out a new wave of strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets on Tuesday. The attacks targeted air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities, communications facilities and other military infrastructure.
Iranian media reported attacks on several targets across the country, including locations near the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran has threatened oil tankers attempting to pass through the strategic waterway without authorisation.
Iran said it retaliated by striking US assets in Jordan and Iraq, while Iranian media also reported attacks in Bahrain. The IRGC claimed that a large number of US forces were killed in Jordan, but two US officials told Reuters that initial assessments indicated there were no American casualties.
Jordan’s armed forces said its air defence systems detected 13 ballistic missiles entering its airspace. Ten were intercepted while three landed in remote areas. Bahrain also said Iranian drones had been intercepted and destroyed.
The IRGC separately said its ground forces launched coordinated missile and drone attacks on US bases in Erbil, northern Iraq, claiming that several US personnel were killed. The reports had not been independently confirmed by Iraq or the United States.
The exchange marked the first serious combat between the two sides since July, ending a period of relative calm during which both countries had refrained from major attacks but had also shown little willingness to resume negotiations.
The lull came as the conflict appeared to be putting pressure on both sides. Iran’s already struggling economy has been further damaged by the war, while its conventional military capabilities have suffered significant losses.
The United States, meanwhile, has faced rising fuel prices as President Donald Trump approaches November’s congressional elections. Reuters reported last month that the US Army had used a substantial portion of its global stockpile of precision long-range missiles, raising concerns about its ability to sustain future conflicts.
Despite the renewed fighting, both sides issued defiant statements.
Trump said the US now had “almost total control” of the Strait of Hormuz and claimed Iran’s economy was collapsing. He also called on the Iranian people to rise against their government.
Iran’s joint military command warned that continued US military action would trigger what it described as “heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses”, adding that countries cooperating with the US would face consequences.
Civilians killed at wedding
The latest escalation also raised concerns over civilian casualties.
Iranian Red Crescent officials said five people were killed and dozens wounded when a wedding near Sirik, a coastal area on the Strait of Hormuz, was hit. Mehr news agency reported that a four-year-old child was among those killed, while IRNA, citing a provincial official, put the number of wounded at 68.
US officials have not publicly commented on the reported incident.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the incident could not be separated from what Tehran described as a wider pattern of attacks during the conflict. He also referred to an earlier blast at a girls’ school in Minab, which Iranian authorities said killed 160 people on the first day of the war.
The Pentagon has yet to issue an official finding on the Minab strike. However, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the incident may have resulted from the use of outdated targeting data by the US military.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran would respond to what it called “savage crimes” and warned governments and international organisations against remaining silent or justifying the attacks.
