Iran strikes US base in Jordan, targets ships near Hormuz after tanker incidents

In the ancient theater of the Persian Gulf, where geography and geopolitics have long conspired to make conflict costly for the entire world, Iran struck American military infrastructure in Jordan and targeted commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday — a coordinated act of retaliation for the sinking of Iranian tankers whose circumstances remain disputed. The dual assault marks a departure from the shadow warfare of proxies and cyber operations toward something more direct and consequential, raising the question that haunts every escalation: who will move next, and how far?