US launches new strikes on Iran and Tehran hits back in widening conflict

US airstrikes on Iran triggered retaliation across the Gulf on Tuesday, deepening a conflict that has already disrupted energy markets and threatened shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices rose more than $4 a barrel and settled at a five-week high.

The strikes followed a weekend exchange of fire, the first since July, and attacks on two tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Iran has effectively closed the waterway to shipping. Tehran responded by targeting US assets in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq and warned that it would prevent oil exports from the Gulf.

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tighten the lock

The Iranian Red Crescent said five people died and 50 were wounded at a wedding near Sirik, on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz. Mehr news agency reported that a 4-year-old child was among those killed, while IRNA, citing a provincial official, reported 68 wounded. The United States had not immediately responded to those reports.

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If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the US attacks would “tighten the lock” on the strait. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted as saying, “If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil.” The waterway carried one in every five barrels of the world’s oil before the war.

US Central Command said its wave of strikes targeted IRGC air-defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities. The attacks ended a month of relative calm, during which Washington and Tehran mostly avoided direct fire while continuing to exchange hostile statements. President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iran “hard,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned of new sanctions. Iranian officials remained defiant despite the pressure.

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hard