Key facts
- The U.S. conducted new airstrikes on Iranian targets.
- Iran retaliated with ballistic missile attacks on a U.S. military base in Jordan.
- Global oil prices increased by over $4 a barrel, reaching a five-week high.
- Iran threatened to block oil exports from the Gulf.
- Five people were killed and 50 wounded in a wedding incident near Sirik, Iran.
- Jordanian air defense systems intercepted most of the incoming missiles.
The United States launched new airstrikes on Iranian targets on Tuesday, escalating the conflict and prompting Iranian retaliation. This marks the most serious escalation in weeks, driving up global energy prices. The strikes followed a weekend exchange of fire and Monday strikes on two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran remained defiant, warning it would prevent oil exports from the Gulf. President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran "hard" in response to renewed Iranian strikes, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated new sanctions were imminent.
Reports from the Iranian Red Crescent indicated five people were killed and 50 wounded at a wedding near Sirik, on the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated the U.S. attacks would "tighten the lock" on the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted as saying that if the enemy prevents oil exports from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil.
Trump stated the Tuesday strikes were retaliation for Iranian attempts to place sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and for missiles fired at a U.S. military base in Jordan. Iran's IRGC claimed it launched a heavy ballistic missile attack on the U.S. Marine Corps base in Jordan, stating "a large number of U.S. forces" were killed. However, two U.S. officials told Reuters there were no casualties so far from the Iranian attack on facilities in Jordan, based on initial information. Jordan's armed forces reported that its air defense systems dealt with 13 ballistic missiles, intercepting 10 and with three falling in remote areas.
Trump had previously warned Iran against retaliation, stating that if Iran retaliated, they would be hit again at a much harder and higher level. He also played down prospects of another ceasefire, stating an agreement with Iran "isn't worth the paper it's written on."