Iran targets U.S. base in Jordan, attacks ships after tanker strikes
Iran escalated its confrontation with the U.S. on Wednesday, launching ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan and attacking ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had carried out a “fierce” missile attack on a U.S. base near Al Azraq in eastern Jordan.
Jordan’s armed forces said its air defences intercepted 18 of 20 ballistic missiles fired towards the country, with the remaining two falling in unpopulated areas. No casualties were reported.
The IRGC also said it had attacked 10 ships, including two U.S. ships and eight oil tankers, in the latest expansion of fighting around the Gulf.
The attacks followed the U.S. military’s announcement that it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards twice attempted to strike a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles.
The U.S. Central Command said crews were ordered to abandon the vessels before they were struck and rendered inoperable.
It said the warship successfully evaded both attacks and continued to patrol regional waters, with no American personnel harmed.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tehran on Tuesday that Washington would continue striking Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for attempted attacks on U.S. warships.
The escalation followed attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, which hit energy and economic facilities in several southern cities and injured more than 70 people.
The latest exchange has raised fears that the six-month-old conflict could further disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies.
Oil prices climbed towards $100 a barrel on Wednesday as investors assessed the risk of further supply disruptions.
