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Strikes and missile response
The U.S. military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday as Tehran fired missiles and drones in response, in hostilities that have lasted more than six months.
“The U.S. military hit targets in Iran on Tuesday and Tehran fired missiles and drones in response”
One U.S. strike hit a home hosting a wedding, killing two people and wounding dozens, local officials said, and Iranian state media reported the U.S. bombed civilian sites along Iran's southern coast and hit a civilian airport.
Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and its joint military command said the armed forces would deliver what they described as “crushing and devastating blows” against the United States.
U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes were in response to Tehran trying to attack commercial ships and American forces in the Middle East, and explosions were seen over the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba as Iran said it was retaliating for the U.S. strikes.
Intercepts in Jordan and Kuwait
Jordan and Kuwait said they intercepted new attacks carried out by Iran during the night after Tehran announced additional strikes on American military bases in the region.
Jordan said it intercepted and destroyed 10 ballistic missiles launched from Iran, while three other missiles fell in remote areas, according to the official Jordanian News Agency (PETRA) early Wednesday morning, and there were no reports of casualties.
Kuwait's army also announced that its air defenses repelled “hostile drones” coming from Iran, adding that the explosions heard across the Gulf nation were the result of interception operations.
The U.S. and Iran announced on Tuesday that they conducted new attacks against each other, and shortly thereafter the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a statement carried by official media, announced retaliatory attacks targeting American bases across the region using missiles and drones.
Oil, sanctions, and the next phase
The renewed fighting has spiked global oil prices, with crude up about 7% this week and the cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. ticked higher again overnight to $4.10, according to AAA.
“the cost for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. ticked higher again overnight to $4.10”
Brent crude futures, already up 2% on the day, jumped almost 2% more on reports of two tankers being hit on Monday leaving the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed to shipping.
U.S. Central Command posted on X that “U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran,” and it said the strikes followed recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Washington was “addicted to making excessive demands” and warned that Tehran would “use all our capabilities, whether on the battlefield or through our diplomatic apparatus,” as the U.S. Treasury warned new sanctions were coming.