Tehran, Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they carried out attacks on a U.S. base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media. The exchange marked one of the biggest escalations since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April.
U.S. strikes near Hormuz
The Iranian strikes, which Iranian media said included attacks in Kuwait and Bahrain, followed U.S. military action that the U.S. military said on X had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the operation was a response to the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter on Tuesday.
“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday.
Wider conflict and ceasefire pressure
The latest escalation has increased uncertainty over prospects for a deal to end the war that began on February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran.
Tehran responded by firing on Gulf neighbours that host U.S. bases and by all but choking off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas.
Details of the U.S. operation
The latest U.S. strikes lasted about four hours before U.S. Central Command posted shortly before 9 p.m. ET, or 0100 GMT Wednesday, that the operation had ended.
A U.S. official said almost 20 Iranian targets had been struck.
Iran’s state media reported that Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.
Iranian media, citing local sources and residents, said sounds of explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas and later near Jask, close to the entrance to the strait.
Iranian response
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted four sites at the U.S. al-Azraq base in Jordan using long-range missiles, according to Iranian media.
The Guards said the targets included F-35 fighter jet hangars and a command-and-control centre, and warned they were ready to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any further U.S. attack.