WASHINGTON/CAIRO: The United States and Iran exchanged attacks on Tuesday, ending a period of relative calm and raising fears of a renewed escalation in the conflict.
The latest confrontation marked the most significant exchange between the two sides in several weeks. Washington warned that further strikes could be more severe, while Tehran condemned a US attack that Iranian authorities said killed five people and injured dozens at a wedding.
US Central Command said American forces carried out a new series of strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions across Iran.
The targets included air defence installations, radar equipment, maritime facilities, mine-laying infrastructure and communications sites, according to the US military.
Iranian media reported that several locations across the country came under attack, including areas near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has threatened vessels using the strategically important waterway unless they obtain permission to pass, adding to concerns over the security of international shipping through the strait.
Tehran said it retaliated by targeting US military assets in Jordan and Iraq, according to official statements. Iranian media also reported attacks in Bahrain.
The IRGC claimed its strikes in Jordan killed a significant number of US personnel. However, two US officials told Reuters that initial assessments indicated there were no American casualties.
The IRGC also said its ground forces carried out combined missile and drone attacks on US bases in Erbil in northern Iraq, claiming several US personnel were killed. Neither Iraq nor the United States had confirmed the claim.
Jordan’s armed forces said its air defence systems dealt with 13 ballistic missiles that entered the kingdom’s airspace. Ten were intercepted, while three fell in remote areas.
Bahrain also said Iranian drones were intercepted and destroyed.
The latest exchange raised concerns that the conflict could enter another period of intensified military confrontation after weeks in which direct attacks had appeared to decline.
The lull came as the conflict appeared to be putting pressure on both sides. Iran’s already struggling economy has been battered by the war, while its conventional military capabilities have been degraded.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has been confronting higher fuel prices ahead of November’s congressional elections. Reuters reported last month that the US Army had used up a significant portion of its global stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles, raising concerns about military readiness for future conflicts.
Despite the renewed hostilities, both sides issued defiant statements.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” Trump said. “They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
Iran, meanwhile, warned the United States and its allies against further military action.
“We warn that the continuation of American evil in the region will be met with heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses,” Iran’s joint military command said in a statement.
It added that any country cooperating with the US military would have to face what it described as “dangerous consequences”.
Five killed at wedding
In one of the latest reported incidents involving civilian casualties, five people were killed and dozens wounded at a wedding near Sirik, a coastal area on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Mehr news agency reported that a four-year-old child was among those killed, while IRNA, citing a provincial official, put the number of wounded at 68.
US officials have not commented on the incident.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson condemned the reported attack, saying it could not be separated from what Tehran described as a broader chain of atrocities during the conflict.
The spokesperson also referred to the blast at a school in Minab, which Iranian authorities said killed 160 people at a girls’ school on the first day of the war.
The Pentagon has yet to issue an official finding on the Minab incident. However, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the strike may have resulted from the US military’s use of outdated targeting data.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country would respond firmly to what it described as “savage crimes”.
“Those governments and international institutions that remain silent in the face of such barbarism, or seek to justify such acts, must understand that their silence is not neutrality,” Iran said.
“Those who remain silent today will not be immune to its consequences tomorrow,” it added.
