The United States and Iran have clashed for the first time in nearly a month, with U.S. forces striking Iranian rocket launchers and Iran retaliating by launching missiles toward Jordan.
Colonel Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said Sunday that Iran was preparing to fire rockets carrying mines into the Strait of Hormuz. He added that U.S. “forces are closely monitoring the area and ready to defend freedom of navigation in this vital waterway.”
According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, posted on X, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile and drone attacks early Monday morning on a U.S. Air Force base in Jordan in retaliation for the American airstrikes. Jordanian media reported that the country’s military intercepted eight missiles that had entered its airspace and destroyed them before they could cause any damage.
The end of weeks of relative calm in the region has pushed oil prices higher. Brent crude rose 2.4%, surpassing $90 per barrel.
This U.S. strike marks the first military action against Iran since late July, when President Trump shifted policy toward economic pressure aimed at forcing Tehran to make concessions. Countries close to Tehran have so far dismissed the threat of sanctions, and analysts have expressed disappointment over the administration’s early moves.
Any sustained escalation of hostilities could drive up energy costs and intensify inflation, unsettling global investors and complicating Republican efforts to retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. Polls show growing voter frustration with the war and with Trump’s inability to end it.
Last week, U.S. military officials announced they had completed mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz, which previously carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. However, U.S. allies have privately warned that the strait is likely still mined.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week that Iran remains willing to restore diplomatic ties with the United States, but he stressed that progress depends on Washington ending its pressure campaign.
After what he described as “creative discussions” with Qatar, a mediator in the conflict, Araghchi posted on social media that progress “depends on the U.S. understanding a simple fact: pressure doesn’t work.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Biden pledged an “economic blow” against Iran and its trading partners, but no agreement has been reached so far.
