Tehran (AFP) – Iran attacked US military targets in the Middle East on Monday in retaliation for the first American strikes on its territory in a month, in a fresh flare-up of the war that has engulfed the region. Tehran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they had responded to Sunday’s American attack by striking two US 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.
Tehran also claimed it targeted US military personnel at an air base in the United Arab Emirates and shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz. The flurry of attacks came after the United States said Sunday it had attacked Iranian rocket launchers on the small island of Larak in the strategic shipping lane. Washington said its attacks were aimed at preventing Iran from placing more sea mines in the strait, days after the US announced it had completed clearing explosives from the waterway.
“US forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military’s Central Command wrote on X. Iran’s 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 Iranian foreign ministry condemned the US attacks on Larak and justified the Jordan strikes as “legitimate defence”. “We are not seeking war, but we will deliver a decisive response to the aggressors,” added Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a statement quoted by state TV.
Pezeshkian was speaking before travelling to Kyrgyzstan for a summit of a bloc that seeks to counter influence from the West, along with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping. The exchange of fire between the United States and Iran came shortly after their war hit its 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. Tehran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic sea lane through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passed before the US and Israel triggered the war with strikes on Iran on February 28.
“Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command. “US forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” he said.
– Unpopular war – 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.
A US naval counterblockade of Iranian ports is squeezing petrol supplies in Iran during a shortfall in domestic production. The April ceasefire put an end to the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks — mainly around the Strait of Hormuz — have dimmed prospects for a final peace agreement. The last US strike on Iran before Sunday came on July 29 in response to “an attempted surprise attack on US forces” in the region, the US military said. Earlier in July, CENTCOM attacked Iran for 13 consecutive nights.
Throughout the war, Iran has fought back by striking US facilities and allies in the Gulf region, hitting targets in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others. Its closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused pain around the world in the form of price hikes and shortages of fertiliser and energy. Both main crude oil contracts rose at least two percent on Monday. The war is also deeply unpopular with the US public, with midterm elections looming in November that could overturn Republican control of Congress.
In a statement on Friday, US Senator Jack Reed criticised Trump over the war. “Six months later, not a single objective has been achieved,” said Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Indeed, he has weakened our position in the Middle East and the world significantly.”
© 2024 AFP
