In the early hours of Tuesday, the United States launched military strikes against Iran, following President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington was reimposing a naval blockade on Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also indicated that the US would begin charging other vessels for secure transit through the waterway, a move that overturns centuries of American policy that had consistently upheld the principle of freedom of navigation worldwide.
In retaliation, Iran carried out attacks on Bahrain, Jordan, and two oil tankers affiliated with the United Arab Emirates that were passing through the strait. The assaults resulted in one mariner killed and eight others wounded. In response, the UAE threatened to strike back against Iran, a move that could drag the Gulf state, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, back into open conflict with Tehran.
These hostilities are unfolding as both Iran and the US vie for dominance over the strategic strait, which in peacetime had handled roughly one-fifth of all globally traded crude oil and natural gas. Following the attacks, benchmark Brent crude futures climbed to a one-month high exceeding $84 a barrel in early Tuesday trading. While this remains well below the nearly $120 peak reached during the height of the wider war, it still threatens to drive up costs across global markets.
The escalation has further eroded a ceasefire that had been in place under an interim agreement between Iran and the US, originally intended to pave the way for ending the broader conflict. That accord has now reached nearly the halfway point of its 60-day window, during which the two sides were supposed to negotiate a final settlement, a deal that was also expected to address Iran’s contentious nuclear program and other outstanding issues.
Separately, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that it targeted a US air base in Jordan with ballistic missiles on Tuesday.
In a statement carried by Fars News, the IRGC addressed the Jordanian people directly, asserting that Iran harbors no enmity toward their country and professing solidarity with them over the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The IRGC also called on Jordanians to dismantle American bases within their kingdom. However, according to Jordan’s state news agency, the kingdom’s armed forces reported that they successfully intercepted and shot down four missiles that had entered Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory.
Meanwhile, the UAE Defense Ministry confirmed early Tuesday that Iran had struck two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, reiterating the casualty count of one sailor killed and eight others wounded.
