Iran retaliates with missile strikes on US bases in Jordan after American attack on Larak Island

The cycle of strike and counterstrike between Iran and the United States resumed on Sunday with a speed that suggested neither side had stepped back from the brink. American warplanes attacked Larak Island in southern Iran early in the day. By evening, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had launched missiles and drones at two American military installations across the border in Jordan—King Hussein Air Base and Al Azraq Air Base—in what it called "Punishment of the Aggressor." The exchange marked the first significant escalation since late July, a reminder that the underlying conflict, now in its seventh month, had never truly cooled.

Jordan's military said its air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that crossed into its airspace on Monday morning, with no injuries reported at either base. The IRGC claimed the strikes had destroyed technical infrastructure, repair facilities, and fighter deployment sites, inflicting what it described as significant damage. The assertion could not be independently verified. On the same day, Iran's state news agencies reported that the IRGC had also shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz, sending it into the Gulf. Again, no independent confirmation emerged.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking as he departed for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, struck a careful note. Tehran was not seeking war, he said, but would not remain passive in the face of aggression. The statement reflected Iran's consistent position: retaliation as a matter of principle, not escalation as a matter of choice. The United States, meanwhile, offered a different framing. Central Command said the Sunday strikes on Larak Island were "limited, precise action" aimed at preventing Iranian forces from laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. It blamed Iran for the attacks. Iran's Fars news agency reported that American soldiers had been killed and wounded in the Sunday strikes but provided no numbers.

The military exchange unfolded against a backdrop of competing claims about who controls the strategic waterway that carries roughly one-third of the world's seaborne oil. Washington has asserted that millions of barrels pass through the strait daily under American military protection, despite what it calls Iran's attempted blockade. Tehran maintains the waterway is closed. Ships have been attacked almost daily, according to reports, yet the two sides inhabit different narratives about what those attacks mean and who is winning.

Trump added a layer of theater to the escalation on Monday by posting an artificial intelligence-generated video on his Truth Social platform depicting the bombing of Kharg Island, Iran's primary oil export hub before the war began. The video showed storage tanks and tankers exploding as seen from aircraft. "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!" the post read. There was no evidence the island was under attack. Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize or destroy it since the conflict began in late February.

The strikes signal that despite Washington's recent pivot toward financial pressure—the Trump administration announced last week it would pursue secondary sanctions against countries and companies doing business with Iran—the military option remains active. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has warned the United States is prepared to use force if necessary. Yet the strategy appears caught between two approaches: bombing campaigns and economic strangulation, neither of which has bent Iran toward concessions on its nuclear program or its claims over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed American claims about controlling the strait, writing on social media that intelligence showed "major efforts to game energy markets" and that U.S. officials were using sympathetic media to influence oil prices for personal gain. Whether or not his assessment is accurate, the price of gasoline in America has climbed above four dollars a gallon, up from less than three when the war began. The inflation is becoming a political liability for Trump's party ahead of November's midterm elections.

Iran has signaled it will endure a prolonged conflict. The pattern of recent weeks—American strikes met by Iranian retaliation, each side claiming restraint while preparing for the next round—suggests the war has settled into a rhythm neither side appears ready to break. The question now is whether the financial pressure Washington is applying will eventually force a change in Tehran's calculus, or whether the two countries will continue this measured exchange of blows indefinitely.