Iran attacked U.S. military targets in the Middle East on Aug. 31 in retaliation for American strikes on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, the first exchange of fire for a month in a war that has engulfed the region.
Six months into the conflict, the two sides remain at an impasse, with Iran keeping the strategic strait shut and Washington persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran.
The United States had signaled a pivot to economic pressure in place of military action, but on Aug. 30 said it attacked Iranian rocket launchers on the small island of Larak to prevent Tehran planting mines in the strategic shipping lane.
Tehran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of its military, said they responded by striking two U.S. air bases with ballistic missiles in Washington-allied Jordan, causing “heavy damage.”
Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without stating their origin.
Iran also claimed it targeted U.S. personnel at an air base in the United Arab Emirates and shot down an American drone over Hormuz.
The exchange of fire between the United States and Iran came at a time when hostilities had been subsiding.
In recent weeks, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had prioritized “economic warfare” over military action.
But the militaries of the two sides remain vying for control of the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran having blocked the passage of commercial ships since the war began.
The strikes came as the Washington Post reported that a recent Pentagon assessment warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that sustaining the current pace of military operations against Iran could weaken the U.S. ability to respond to threats in other regions and defend the homeland.
Commanders overseeing operations in Latin America, Europe and Asia have had aircraft, ships and other resources redirected to support the six-month-long war with Iran, which shows no clear signs of ending.
