US and Iranian forces exchanged attacks on Sunday after a week of intensive regional diplomacy failed to break the deadlock between Tehran and Washington, marking a renewed military escalation following heightened economic pressure,
Iran International reports.
The fighting resumed when US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the first known American attack on Iran since late July.
A US official said Revolutionary Guards forces had been preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several Iranian fighters and civilians and vowed retaliation.
Hours later, the IRGC said it had launched a combined ballistic missile and drone attack on two US air bases in Jordan, claiming “heavy damage” to technical and maintenance infrastructure and areas where fighter jets were stationed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq and King Hussein Air Base.
There was no immediate independent confirmation of the damage claimed by Iran.
The renewed exchange came after a flurry of mediation efforts last week raised hopes that the two sides might find a path back toward negotiations.
Senior officials from Pakistan, Oman and Qatar visited Tehran within days of each other, with talks focused on de-escalation, the Strait of Hormuz and reviving stalled US-Iran diplomacy.
Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, visited Tehran on Thursday, following visits by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and Pakistan’s army chief.
Iran and Oman had also been discussing a temporary navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran insisted any reopening would depend on Washington lifting its blockade and meeting other Iranian conditions.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said Thursday that Washington was not seeking talks with Iran.
