Phoenix 24
A month-long military pause has ended in another cycle of attack, retaliation and wider regional risk.
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
The United States has launched a new wave of strikes against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after reported attacks on American forces and commercial shipping. US Central Command said the operation targeted Iranian air-defence positions, radar systems, maritime assets, communications facilities and capabilities used to deploy mines near the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump said the strikes answered an alleged Iranian attempt to place additional sea mines in the strategic waterway and the launch of eight missiles toward a US military base in Jordan. American and Jordanian defences reportedly intercepted those missiles without confirmed US casualties. Washington describes its actions as necessary to protect service members, civilian vessels and international commerce.
Iran responded with further missile and drone launches against American positions in Jordan and surrounding areas. Explosions were reported over Aqaba as Jordanian forces attempted to intercept incoming projectiles. Tehran presented its attacks as retaliation for US aggression, while Trump warned that any continued response would provoke strikes at a “much harder and higher level,” sharply reducing the possibility of immediate de-escalation.
The humanitarian consequences remain contested. Iranian authorities reported that a US strike hit a home hosting a wedding in southern Hormozgan province, killing at least two civilians and injuring more than 20 people. Iranian media also reported damage to civilian infrastructure and an airport. The United States maintains that its operation was directed against military targets, and the competing casualty accounts have not been independently verified.
The renewed confrontation follows an American strike on rocket launchers on Larak Island, where US officials said Revolutionary Guard units were preparing weapons connected to mine-laying operations. Iran subsequently fired missiles toward American facilities in Jordan. The latest exchanges ended approximately one month without direct military action between the two countries.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the conflict’s most consequential pressure point because a large share of global oil and liquefied-natural-gas trade moves through its waters. Any sustained disruption could raise energy and transportation costs far beyond the Middle East. Washington and Tehran both describe their operations as defensive, yet their escalating retaliation is making commercial navigation, regional security and diplomatic restraint increasingly difficult to preserve.
Lo visible y lo oculto, en contexto. / The visible and the hidden, in context.