Iran fires ballistic missiles at US bases in Jordan as the Hormuz fight resumes
The United States and Iran exchanged fire for the first time in a month after US Central Command struck rocket launchers on Larak Island, saying it had detected preparations to lay fresh mines in the strait of Hormuz. The Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at the King Hussein and al-Azraq airbases in Jordan. President Donald Trump promised a response, then posted a clip he said showed Kharg Island destroyed. Software that detects AI-manipulated imagery found the clip most likely synthetic, with no evidence Kharg had been attacked.
Geopolitics··Night
The Guard says it fired ballistic missiles at US bases in Jordan
The United States and Iran exchanged fire for the first time in a month. US Central Command struck rocket launchers on Larak Island late on Sunday, saying it had detected preparations to lay fresh mines in the strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired ballistic missiles at the King Hussein and al-Azraq airbases in Jordan. The UAE said it engaged a drone over its territorial waters. President Donald Trump told Fox News: that the response would be hard[1]
A tanker hits two mines as Iran says it targeted three ships on a southern route
Iranian state television said the exchange escalated after a tanker caught fire on hitting two Iranian naval mines while trying to pass the southern side of the strait near Oman. Officials later said Iran had targeted three ships using a southern route Tehran calls unauthorised. The Guard warned that other vessels breaking its passage rules would meet the same treatment. Washington says repeated strikes on launchers and radars have loosened Tehran's grip on a waterway that carried a fifth of the world's seaborne energy before the war. Trump claimed last week that the US navy had cleared the strait of mines, which Iran denies. On the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistan's prime minister that continuing the war does not serve Iran's interest.[1]
Trump posts a Kharg blast clip; hours later there is no evidence of an attack
President Donald Trump posted a video clip on Truth Social on Sunday that he said showed Iran's oil hub Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, hours after the two countries traded attacks for the first time since July. Software that detects AI-manipulated imagery found the clip was most likely synthetically generated; several hours after the post there was no evidence Kharg had been attacked. Kharg handled 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports before the war that US and Israeli attacks opened on 28 February. The White House and the US Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was not seeking war but would respond decisively to any aggression, in remarks state media carried on Monday before his trip to Kyrgyzstan; it is not clear whether he spoke before or after Trump's post.[2]
Related columns
For more information on this topic, you can read the related columns.