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US and Iran Exchange Military Strikes in Strait of Hormuz and Jordan as Regional Tensions Persist

U.S. forces targeted Iranian rocket launchers, prompting Iranian retaliatory missile launches toward American bases in Jordan.

The short version

  • U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz in their first announced military action in a month, followed by Iranian missile launches directed at U.S. bases in Jordan.
  • Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called on Muslim nations to unite against the U.S. and Israel in a letter read at a Tehran conference.
  • Related regional escalations included an Israeli strike in Gaza, settler violence against news personnel in the West Bank, and the security evacuation of Benjamin Netanyahu's son from the U.S.
  • Turkey is scheduled to host defense officials from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan following the recent signing of a mutual defense pact among the three nations.

Key facts

  • U.S. military forces conducted strikes on Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, which U.S. military officials characterized as a targeted action against minelaying forces.[ABC News]
  • Iran stated it launched missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan in response, and Jordanian armed forces reported intercepting eight missiles in their airspace.[ABC News]
  • Iran's Revolutionary Guard reported casualties among its fighters near Larak island following the U.S. strikes.[ABC News]
  • Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a letter urging Muslim countries to unite against Israel and the United States.[ABC News]
  • Israel's Shin Bet security agency evacuated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair from Miami, citing a significant threat.[ABC News]
  • An Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, killed a 3-year-old child and a man who the Israeli military alleged was a Hamas operative.[ABC News]
  • Masked Israeli settlers attacked an NBC news crew and a Palestinian woman in the West Bank, while Israeli authorities separately detained a British activist for deportation.[ABC News]
  • Turkey arranged to host senior officials from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan following the signature of a trilateral mutual defense treaty.[ABC News]

What remains uncertain

  • The entity responsible for a projectile strike on a commercial tanker north of Khasab, Oman, remains unconfirmed.[ABC News]
  • The Israeli military asserted that the individual killed in the Deir al-Balah strike posed an immediate threat as a Hamas operative, but did not publicly release supporting evidence.[ABC News]
  • Specific details regarding the origin and nature of the threat against Yair Netanyahu were not elaborated on by Shin Bet.[ABC News]

Sources