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Baghdad : The US military said early Thursday it had completed what it described as “a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan.
US Central Command said in a social media post that over the span of two hours they struck “dozens” of targets belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, including military command centres as well as missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance and defense sites.
The new strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “very hard” after it targeted a base in Jordan that hosts US troops.
Elsewhere, drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes on a US-owned floating storage facility and a Greek-owned tanker. No injuries were reported.
The flare-ups on multiple fronts after several days of relative calm raised the risk of a return to all-out war. It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans. The fighting was also likely to add to concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and allies.
Asked during an Oval Office event if Iran was responsible for the strikes on the natural gas vessels, Trump responded: “It’s a little more of the same.”
“In the meantime, we’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them,” he added.
Saudi Arabia had accused the Iraqi militias of firing drones against its oil facilities over the past two days. An umbrella group of Iraqi militias initially denied the allegations, while another Iran-backed group – the Houthi rebels in Yemen – said they had attacked Saudi energy facilities as part of a separate but related conflict.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met separately on Wednesday with Trump and Vice President J D Vance, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly. The White House and Vice President’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Before the latest eruption, mediators had expressed optimism about bringing the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table. An interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies that Iranian attacks have again effectively closed.
A regional official said mediators are “still trying with both sides” to restore calm and get the ceasefire back on track. He gave no details on whether progress was being made and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy.
Regional countries will continue to push to de-escalate the situation, said an Arab official, adding that prospects for successful mediation were slim as both sides continue to launch attacks on the other and have shown no inclination to stop. “We’re in a very bad place right now,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe an internal assessment of the situation.
The renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.3 per cent to USD 88.093 a barrel. (AP)
