Iran Strikes Jordanian Base and Hormuz Shipping After Destruction of Oil Tankers

By Enas Alashray and Idrees Ali

CAIRO/WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced it launched ballistic missiles at a Jordanian base used by U.S. forces and struck ten vessels on Wednesday, following Washington’s claim that it had sunk five Iranian oil tankers, marking a notable escalation in the six‑month‑long confrontation.

Escalating strikes from both the United States and Iran have ended a brief period of calm, targeting military installations, shipping lanes, and energy infrastructure, pushing oil prices higher and drawing in regional partners over the past few days.

U.S. officials said they destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday. U.S. Central Command released video of the strikes, describing them as a reply to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hitting a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles on two occasions over the prior two days. No American personnel were injured, according to Washington.

“Iran keeps attempting to strike U.S. naval vessels, and each time it does—or tries to—it will lose tankers,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reporters while visiting Colombia.

Iran subsequently launched a ballistic missile strike on a base utilized by U.S. forces near Al‑Azraq in Jordan, according to an IRGC statement broadcast on state media.

While Iran claimed its missiles caused significant damage, Jordan reported that its air defenses intercepted 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles, with two landing in uninhabited zones and no casualties incurred. A U.S. official said the strikes in Jordan were ineffective and all American personnel were accounted for.

The IRGC said on Wednesday it also struck ten ships, including two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers, as they tried to navigate a “prohibited and unsafe” zone of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy artery largely disrupted by Iranian actions.

Iran has repeatedly targeted U.S. assets and regional allies throughout the conflict, including several strikes in Jordan that have killed at least two American service members, one of which occurred in July.

Iran has also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a state‑media statement. A maritime security source said a liquefied natural gas carrier was damaged at the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan, although responsibility remains unclear.

Oil prices continued to rise in early Wednesday trading, with Brent crude approaching $100 a barrel as markets worried about disruptions to tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Recent attacks by Yemen’s Iran‑aligned Houthis on Saudi Arabia, a leading energy producer, have further heightened supply concerns.

Houthi attacks targeted Saudi Arabia

On Tuesday, the Houthis launched strikes against several Saudi cities, further destabilizing the region.

The Houthi attacks wounded 73 people and set oil installations ablaze, appearing to represent a major expansion of the conflict that began on February 28 with joint U.S.–Israeli strikes against Iran.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen’s populated areas—including the capital—have increased pressure on U.S. allies by intermittently disrupting shipping on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula, at the entrance to the Red Sea.

They said they had carried out a wide‑ranging operation deep into Saudi territory, employing drones and missiles to hit a Saudi air base in the southern city of Khamis Mushait and to strike Saudi state oil company facilities in Abha, Najran and Jazan.

Saudi officials reported fires at the sites and said women and children were among those injured.

Saudi Arabia has headed an Arab coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen for over a decade, after the Houthis expelled the Yemeni government from the capital. The conflict had eased in recent years, but a ceasefire there has collapsed.

The broader Gulf conflict has become a test of wills between the United States and Iran, with each side hoping that economic pressure from competing blockades will compel the other to back down.

The United States is seeking to boost global oil supplies by directing vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, while simultaneously imposing a blockade to curb Iran’s exports.

Central Command said the tankers destroyed on Tuesday belonged to a shadow network that finances the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran has long backed what it describes as an “Axis of Resistance,” encompassing the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraqi Shi’ite militias, and the Houthis.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly in Dubai and Enas Alashray in Cairo; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali and Simon Lews in Washington; Writing by Daniel Trotta, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry)

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