Iran and the United States traded fresh attacks on Wednesday as tensions over the strategically important Strait of Hormuz escalated, with Tehran threatening further action against oil tankers linked to US allies.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked 20 US vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The latest escalation followed US strikes that destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday. The US military said the vessels were targeted after Iran had attacked an American warship.
Iranian forces subsequently said they launched a “punitive operation” against the US air base at Al-Azraq in Jordan. Iranian state media reported that missiles damaged maintenance and repair facilities, deployment areas and fighter-jet shelters.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted 18 Iranian missiles targeting the country.
Tehran also warned oil tankers operating off the coasts of US allies Kuwait and Bahrain to leave the area, saying the vessels would be targeted if they remained.
The confrontation has pushed oil prices sharply higher. Brent crude rose to $99.46 a barrel in Asian morning trading, while US West Texas Intermediate reached $94.45.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely paralysed since the war began in February. Iran has asserted control over the waterway and requires vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before passing through it.
The strait normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, making the disruption a major concern for global energy markets.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran would continue to face retaliation if it targeted American naval vessels.
“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia on Tuesday.
Iran also claimed on Tuesday that its forces seized a modern unmanned American submarine drone in the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said the drone had malfunctioned and was an older model that carried no sensitive data.
Iranian state television further reported attacks on two US destroyers with ballistic missiles, although the US military had not immediately commented on the claim.
The latest exchanges deepen a six-month military confrontation between Washington and Tehran, with the continuing disruption around Hormuz threatening further pressure on global oil supplies.
