The United States and Iran have exchanged fresh military strikes, ending a month-long lull in direct hostilities between the two countries as tensions escalate across the Middle East.
U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, marking the first known American military action against Iran in about a month.
The United States Central Command said Iranian Revolutionary Guards had been observed preparing to launch rockets and sea mines into the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Iran condemned the attack and vowed retaliation, with its Revolutionary Guards later saying the U.S. strikes killed and wounded people on the island.
Iran subsequently launched ballistic missiles at two U.S.-operated military bases in Jordan, according to its Revolutionary Guards.
The targets were identified as the King Hussein and Al-Azraq airbases.
Jordan’s military said its air defence systems intercepted eight missiles that entered the kingdom’s airspace early Monday.
Reports indicated that there was no significant impact from the attack.
The latest escalation has also triggered fresh concerns over global energy supplies.
Oil prices rose by more than two percent, with Brent crude climbing above 90 dollars a barrel following the U.S. attack near the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump also claimed that Iran’s Kharg Island was being “blown to smithereens.”
The island is a major Iranian oil export hub and previously handled about 90 percent of the country’s oil exports.
Meanwhile, the number of commodity vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply, with shipping data showing only about five visible commodity vessels transiting the waterway per day over the weekend.
The latest strikes come amid a conflict that has lasted more than six months, following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran that began on February 28.
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