Iran retaliates after fresh US attacks, strikes American targets across Middle East

Tehran (Web Desk): Iran has stepped up attacks against US-linked targets across the Middle East, a day after Tehran warned that Washington would face “severe” consequences for its latest strikes.

The escalation is the newest phase of a continuing cycle of retaliation that began after the United States launched attacks against Iran. The confrontation around the Strait of Hormuz has since widened, involving US military facilities, Gulf allies and commercial vessels.

Iranian media reported that Tehran fired ballistic missiles at two American bases in Jordan.

The United States had not immediately responded to the reports. Earlier, however, President Donald Trump had threatened Iran with “much harder and higher” attacks if Tehran chose to retaliate.

Jordan’s military said its forces intercepted 10 ballistic missiles launched from Iran, while reporting no confirmed casualties or direct impacts. It added that three additional missiles came down in isolated areas.

Statement by Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army spokesperson

The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) Spokesperson Said That Jordan, Over The Past Several Hours, Was Targeted By A Missile Attack That Originated From Iranian Territory.
The Spokesperson Said Jordanian Air Defence… pic.twitter.com/Dp9PnidtfM

— المركز الوطني للأمن وإدارة الأزمات (NCSCM) (@NCSCMJordan) September 1, 2026

Kuwait also reported missile and drone activity, with its military saying it was responding to Iranian attacks. Meanwhile, early Wednesday, journalists associated with AFP in Bahrain heard warning sirens signalling possible aerial attacks.

تتصدى حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الكويتية لهجمات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة معادية ، إثر العدوان الإيراني الاثم.

تنوه رئاسة الأركان العامة للجيش أن أصوات الانفجارات إن سمعت فهي نتيجة اعتراض منظومات الدفاع الجوي للهجمات المعادية.

يرجى من الجميع التقيد بتعليمات الأمن والسلامة الصادرة عن… pic.twitter.com/tzVupxapGA

— KUWAIT ARMY - الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) September 1, 2026

Iran’s military separately claimed that it had carried out drone strikes against American forces stationed at an airbase in Bahrain, a country that remains a major US partner in the Gulf.

In Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said missiles and drones had been used against American positions. State news agency IRNA reported that the strikes destroyed a maintenance facility, warehouses and military equipment.

The current confrontation followed US attacks on Iranian positions on Sunday, marking the first publicly known American strikes in several weeks. Tehran subsequently targeted US troops in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, while two oil tankers were also hit by projectiles in incidents where responsibility had not been established.

The United States launched another series of attacks on Tuesday. Iranian state television reported explosions in southern parts of the country near the Strait of Hormuz and on a Gulf island. It also said American forces had struck an airport in Kerman province.

Iran’s Red Crescent said fragments from a US missile hit a house in Kuhestak while a wedding gathering was underway. Four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 others were injured, according to the organisation.

Iranian state media later reported another deadly strike in southwestern Khuzestan province, saying seven people had died and eight more were wounded.

IRNA also said that “four projectiles hit areas within the counties of Chabahar and Konarak”, but provided no information about possible damage.

Trump described the American operation as “large and powerful”, saying it was carried out “in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait” and “the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan”.

In another message on Truth Social, Trump said he was “not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table” and questioned: “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”

Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi responded by warning that Washington “will regret its new attacks”, adding that “severe punishment awaits the aggressors”.

Iran’s Khatam-al Anbiya central military command also issued a warning. Its spokesman, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, said on Wednesday that “any country that cooperates with the aggressive American army will face more severe, more widespread and destructive responses”.

The US military said Tuesday’s operation came after what it described as “attempted attacks by (the Revolutionary Guards) against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region”. US Central Command (Centcom) published the statement on X.

Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 1, 2026

When asked whether the US military had received credible information about civilian deaths in the latest strikes, Centcom spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said “the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC”.

Six months into the conflict, neither side appears to have gained a decisive advantage. Iran continues to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, while Washington maintains a counter-blockade aimed at Iranian ports.

The United States has said its forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, arguing that the operation was intended to stop Tehran from placing mines along vital shipping routes through the strait.

The wider Middle East conflict began in late February, when US and Israeli forces launched attacks on Iran that resulted in the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A fragile truce between Washington and Tehran later broke down following attacks involving commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, the strategically important waterway carried around one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies.

Marisks, a Greek company specialising in maritime risk management, said Tuesday that two crude oil tankers had been struck by “unknown projectiles” late the previous day.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency had earlier confirmed one of the incidents, saying there were no reported casualties or environmental damage.

Despite the continuing diplomatic stalemate, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that Tehran would respond in kind to any American effort to revive an agreement intended to bring the war to an end.

At the same time, he cautioned that a US return to “a policy of pressure and threats could derail the path of diplomacy”.