Iran claims ‘punitive strike’ damaged US air base in Jordan as Middle East tensions escalate – top developments
The Middle East remains on edge on Wednesday as the United States and Iran trade fresh attacks overnight strikes. The US launched strikes on Iranian targets, describing them as a response to Tehran’s attempt to target a US warship with ballistic missiles, and Iran hit back by attacking 20 vessels, including two American ships.Click here for live updatesIran, meanwhile, fired a barrage of missiles at US military positions in Jordan in direct retaliation for attacks on Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and the port of Jask.However, Jordan said it successfully intercepted 18 of the 20 missiles launched by Iran.Here are the latest developments:
CENTCOM destroys five Iranian crude oil carriers; Iran strikes back
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, struck and destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday, following attacks targeting a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles over the past two days.Four of the vessels were struck in the Gulf of Oman and were identified by CENTCOM as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco. The fifth tanker was hit near the oil-rich Kharg Island.According to the US military, its forces ordered the crews to abandon the vessels before carrying out the strikes, rendering the tankers inoperable. No American personnel were injured in the operations.Iranian media later reported that the IRGC Navy retaliated by attacking 20 vessels, including two US ships. Ten of the vessels, including the two US ships, were reportedly targeted in the Persian Gulf, while the other 10 were struck near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran targets US Al-Azraq air base in Jordan
Iran launched a barrage of missiles at the US air base of Al-Azraq in Jordan in what it called a “direct retaliation” for attacks on Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and the port of Jask.According to IRIB, the initial US attack targeted an Iranian oil tanker near the Kharg Island anchorage, prompting the safe evacuation of its crew. Moments later, US forces reportedly carried out a second strike on a commercial vessel in the coastal waters off Jask County. Another explosion of unidentified origin was also reported in the area.Amid the escalating hostilities, the Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy issued an urgent evacuation warning.The IRGC later vowed to retaliate by targeting oil tankers near ports in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Iranian Navy claims US submarine capture
The IRGC Navy on Tuesday claimed that it had captured a US unmanned submersible near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz during what it described as a “complex intelligence” and operational operation.Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that IRGC Navy forces “trapped one of the most modern, intelligent, unmanned submarines” operated by the US military in the early hours of Tuesday.The submersible was reportedly equipped with advanced underwater technology and had been delivered to the US fleet in 2025.Iran’s state news agency IRNA described the vessel as being equipped with some of the world’s most advanced underwater technology and called it a “war trophy”.IRNA also reported that photographs of the captured submersible were expected to be released in the coming hours.The United States has yet to publicly comment on the IRGC Navy’s claim.Separately, a US Central Command official confirmed that an American underwater drone had “malfunctioned and gone missing a day ago” and was no longer in the command’s possession.CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said the Anduril Dive-LD drone went missing while conducting a survey mission in the region.Hawkins said the vessel was an older, defective model that “neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment”.“It was also in a commercially available configuration, so we aren’t concerned,” Hawkins added.
US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran, targets aviation industry
The Trump administration on Tuesday (local time) imposed fresh sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector, targeting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers in a renewed effort to isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.The measures are part of the administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign, aimed at cutting off what it described as “critical financial lifelines” to Iran’s already heavily sanctioned government. The latest sanctions target remaining parts of Tehran’s beleaguered aviation network, which has faced years of restrictions from Washington.“Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system,” a statement quoted treasury secretary Scott Bessent as saying.The administration accused the 36 entities targeted in the latest round of sanctions of supporting Iran’s efforts to use its aviation sector to transport weapons, personnel and illicit cargo.It also alleged that private companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Malaysia provided parts and logistical support to Mahan Air. The airline has been under US counterterrorism sanctions since 2019 over its alleged support for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which the State Department has designated a foreign terrorist organisation.(With agency inputs)
