- US airstrikes against Iran escalated conflict, boosting global oil prices.
- Iran retaliated, targeted US assets; civilian deaths also reported.
- US strikes hit IRGC military infrastructure; Iran remains defiant.
The United States launched a barrage of airstrikes against Iran on Tuesday, triggering retaliation from Tehran in the most serious escalation between the two sides in weeks. The latest fighting has pushed global energy prices higher and added to the domestic political pressure facing US President Donald Trump.
The strikes came after a weekend exchange of fire between the US and Iran — the first such confrontation since July — followed by attacks on two tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The waterway, a crucial route for global oil supplies, has effectively been closed to shipping by Iran.
Oil prices surged by more than $4 a barrel on Tuesday, settling at a five-week high as markets reacted to the growing threat to energy supplies. The escalation also raised fresh concerns over how far the conflict could spread across the region.
Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Much Harder’ Attacks
As the strikes unfolded, Trump warned Tehran against retaliating. In a post on Truth Social, he said Iran would face attacks at a “much harder and higher” level if it responded to the latest US operation.
“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level,” Trump said, adding that an even larger attack was “waiting in the wings”.
He warned that when that attack was over, “there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Iran Retaliates Across The Region
Iran responded by striking US assets in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq, while maintaining its threat to prevent oil exports from the Gulf. The retaliation came despite Trump’s warning that Washington would hit Iran “hard” and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warning that new sanctions were imminent.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the latest US attacks would “tighten the lock” on the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war, the strategic waterway carried one in every five barrels of oil consumed globally.
Iranian media quoted parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying that if Iran was prevented from exporting oil from the Persian Gulf, “no one will be able to export oil”.
Wedding Attack Leaves Several Dead
The escalation also caused casualties among civilians. Five people were killed and 50 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. IRNA, citing a provincial official, put the number of wounded at 68.
There was no immediate reaction from the United States to the reports of the casualties.
US Says IRGC Targets Were Hit
The latest US operation came after a month of relative calm, during which Washington and Tehran largely refrained from direct military action while continuing to exchange hostile statements.
The US military’s Central Command said it had completed a wave of strikes targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The targets included air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities.
Iranian media reported several other strikes, including a US missile attack near Ahvaz and an attack on the civilian airport at Jiroft in southeastern Iran. Explosions were also reported in Chabahar, Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz and Asaluyeh, a major gas hub on the Gulf coast.
Iran’s state broadcaster further reported explosions on Qeshm Island, located on the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The escalation marks a sharp departure from the relative lull of recent weeks, with both sides now exchanging direct attacks while the strategic waterway remains at the centre of growing concerns over global energy supplies.
