Tehran Targets U.S. Base in Jordan In Retaliation for U.S. Destroying Iranian Oil Tankers

Iran said it targeted a U.S. base in Jordan with a series of missiles overnight after the U.S. military struck five Iranian oil tankers amid renewed hostilities in the region.

“The defeated and aggressor U.S. terrorist military, out of desperation, attacked several Iranian commercial and oil vessels,” said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Iranian state media.”This powerful battle will continue.”

A spokesperson for the Jordanian Armed Forces said a barrage of “20 ballistic missiles” had been launched towards its territory. The country’s air defense system successfully intercepted and destroyed 18 of the missiles, while the remaining two” fell in areas devoid of population centers.”

The IRGC on Wednesday claimed to have targeted two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz as part of its wider retaliatory operations, as reported by Iranian state media.

U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said it had received reports involving several merchant vessels in the region that were subject to “disabling fire,”  but it was unable to confirm the nature or impact of the disturbances. 

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), in response, denied the IRGC’s claims, saying that “no U.S. Navy warship has been struck” as “all IRGC attempted attacks failed.”

The escalation comes after CENTCOM on Tuesday said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers in response to Iran targeting U.S. Navy ships with ballistic missiles over the previous two days.

“The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed,” said the U.S. defense force.

The active hostilities and attacks on shipping mark a serious escalation in the reignited war, which experienced a brief respite before flaring up again last week.

The U.S. and Iran are trading retaliatory attacks as President Donald Trump pursues a campaign of military and economic pressure on Iran, with Tehran threatening it could escalate the conflict further by targeting U.S. oil and gas interests in the Gulf.

Iran has specifically denounced the U.S. attacks on its oil shipments, with the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday insisting the strikes are “not only a dangerous escalation of tensions in the region, but also a clear threat to regional and international peace and security.”

Iran-backed Houthis escalate regional instability with attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen contributed to the regional instability by launching attacks on four cities in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with the aim of targeting oil infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 73 people had been injured in the strikes.

The attacks came after weeks of escalation between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government of Yemen, shattering a four-year informal cease-fire in the country’s civil war.

“The U.S. has a very strong defensive military relationship with Saudi Arabia, and we’re watching those events very closely. It’s been going on for some time,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.

The renewed fighting threatens to further disrupt shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical trade route off the Arabian Peninsula for oil and global commerce.