Iran said on Monday it attacked US military targets in Jordan in retaliation for the first American strikes on its territory in a month, marking a fresh flare-up in the six-month war. Tehran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said they struck two US military air bases with ballistic missiles in Washington-allied Jordan, causing "heavy damage." Jordan's army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin. The strikes came after the United States said on Sunday it had attacked Iranian rocket launchers on a small island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington said its attacks were aimed at preventing Iran from launching more sea mines into the strait, days after it announced it had completed clearing explosives from the strategic waterway. US Central Command wrote on X that US forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards said the US strikes resulted in casualties and that their subsequent attack on Jordan was in response to the US-Zionist aerial aggression.
The exchange of fire came shortly after the US-Iran war hit the six-month mark, and at a time when hostilities had been subsiding. In recent weeks, the administration of US President Donald Trump has prioritised economic warfare over military strikes on Iran. Tehran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic sea lane through which one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the United States and Israel triggered hostilities with strikes on Iran on February 28.
Diplomatic efforts, spearheaded by mediators including Pakistan and Qatar, have tried for months to bring an end to the war. While a ceasefire was agreed in April and a memorandum of understanding towards a final peace deal was signed in June, no agreement has been forthcoming, and Washington has since declared economic warfare against Tehran. The April ceasefire put an end to the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks, mainly around the Strait of Hormuz, have dimmed the prospects of a final peace agreement.