Iran Strikes US Base In Jordan, Targets 10 Ships Near Hormuz; India Condemns Houthi Attacks On Saudi Arabia

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan and attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a day after the US military destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, in the latest exchange of strikes to push the more than six-month-old war towards open hostilities again.

The Revolutionary Guard said its missiles targeted a base near Al Azraq used by US forces, while its naval forces attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers attempting to cross what it described as a "prohibited and unsafe" area of the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes followed US attacks on the five tankers on Tuesday, which Washington said came in response to Iranian attacks on a US Navy warship.

The latest attacks have shattered a month of relative calm, with the conflict again hitting US military assets, commercial shipping and energy infrastructure across the region. Brent crude approached $100 a barrel on Wednesday as concerns grew over disruption to tanker traffic through Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies.

Iran strikes US base in Jordan

Iran's ballistic missile attack on Jordan came after two days of Iranian attacks on a US Navy warship, according to the US military's Central Command.

Central Command said the strikes came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted the American warship twice with ballistic missiles. The US said no American personnel were harmed, according to Reuters.

"Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and ​for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters ⁠during a visit to Colombia.

The Revolutionary Guard later said it had launched ballistic missiles at the US base near Al Azraq. Iranian state media said the attack caused heavy damage.

Jordan said its air defences intercepted 18 of the 20 missiles. The other two fell in unpopulated areas, and there were no casualties, according to Jordanian authorities.

A US official said the Iranian strikes were ineffective and that all American troops were accounted for.

Iran has targeted US forces and regional allies during the war, including in Jordan. At least two US military personnel were killed during an Iranian strike there in July.

Tankers and warships targeted near Hormuz

The confrontation moved to the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with the IRGC saying it had attacked 10 ships in the waterway.

The force said the vessels included two US ships and eight oil tankers that were trying to pass through an area Iran had declared "prohibited and unsafe".

Iran has also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a statement carried by state media. A maritime security source reported that a liquefied natural gas tanker was damaged at the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan, although it was unclear who was responsible, Reuters reported.

Washington is trying to increase the flow of oil to world markets by guiding ships through the strait while cutting off Iranian exports with a blockade. US Central Command said the five tankers destroyed on Tuesday were part of a shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies.

The attacks have put commercial shipping directly into the US-Iran confrontation, increasing the risk of further disruption to regional energy supplies.

Iran says it captured US submarine drone

The latest confrontation around Hormuz follows an incident involving an unmanned US underwater vessel.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that they had captured a US uncrewed submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media identified it as a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater vehicle built by California defence firm Anduril, Reuters reported.

The vessel is designed for missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering and inspection of underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.

“We trapped one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist American army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. This submersible is equipped with the latest technologies,” the Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.

The Pentagon said the underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day earlier and described it as an older model that was not carrying sensitive equipment.

“It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment,” the spokesperson said.

Anduril confirmed the loss of one of its vessels and said Dive-LD was designed to operate in dangerous environments where losing the vehicle was an expected possibility.

“Dive-LD is an attritable autonomous system, meaning it is designed from the outset to operate in dangerous environments where loss of the vehicle is an expected possibility,” a company spokesperson said.

According to Anduril's website, Dive-LD can operate for up to 10 days without returning to base and can dive to depths of as much as 19,700 feet.

Houthi attacks add to regional pressure

The attacks around Hormuz came as Iran-aligned Houthi forces launched their own attacks on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The Houthis said they carried out a broad operation deep inside Saudi territory, using drones and missiles to strike a Saudi air base in Khamis Mushait and Saudi state oil company assets in Abha, Najran and Jazan.

The attacks wounded 73 people and set oil installations ablaze, according to the information provided by Saudi authorities. Women and children were among those wounded.

India on Wednesday condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, particularly the targeting of civilian and economic facilities. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such attacks undermine regional security and stability and threaten freedom of navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. “Such attacks are unacceptable,” Jaiswal said in response to a media query.

The Houthis control most of Yemen's populated areas, including the capital, and have periodically disrupted shipping at the other end of the Arabian Peninsula, around the entrance to the Red Sea.

The renewed attacks on Saudi territory have added to pressure on energy infrastructure at a time when tanker traffic through Hormuz is already facing disruption.

Brent crude nears $100

Oil markets responded to the latest developments, with Brent crude approaching $100 a barrel in early trading on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The rise reflects concerns that continued attacks and restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz could further reduce the movement of oil tankers. The Houthi attacks on Saudi energy facilities have added another source of uncertainty for regional supplies.

Washington is seeking to keep oil moving through Hormuz while restricting Iranian exports, while Tehran is using its ability to disrupt shipping to put pressure on the US and its allies. Brent crude approached $100 a barrel on Wednesday as markets weighed the risk of further disruption to oil shipments through the strait.