Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched attacks on US military bases in Jordan on Monday, responding to American strikes that destroyed two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island a day earlier.
US Central Command said US forces bombed the two IRGC rocket launchers on the Persian Gulf island on Sunday. The IRGC retaliation on Jordan followed within hours, extending an exchange of strikes that has drawn in several Gulf and neighbouring states over recent months.
Oil markets moved in response. Prices rose more than 1% on Monday as traders weighed the risk of supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which a large share of global crude shipments pass. Larak Island sits near the strait’s approaches.
The latest exchange builds on earlier fighting. Iranian forces have previously targeted US installations across the Gulf, and Washington resumed strikes on Iran after an attack on a base in Jordan. The Larak Island operation was the first US attack on the site since July, according to Central Command.
The extent of casualties or damage from the Jordan strikes was not immediately confirmed. Neither the number of bases hit nor the type of munitions used was disclosed in official statements.
Traders are focused on whether the confrontation threatens tanker traffic through Hormuz. Any sustained disruption to the waterway would remove a large volume of crude from the market, and the possibility alone lifted benchmark prices at Monday’s open.
The US and Iran have not announced any scheduled talks to halt the exchange. Central Command has said it will continue operations against launch sites it deems a threat to American forces in the region.