The United States launched new strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets across Iran's southern provinces on September 1, and Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at US military bases in Jordan, Iraq, and Bahrain in retaliation [6][7][8]. Jordan's air defenses intercepted 10 of 13 incoming Iranian missiles, with three landing in remote areas [5][6][11]. Two commercial tankers — a Saudi-flagged vessel and a Liberian-flagged tanker operated by South Korea's Sinokor — were struck by projectiles near the Omani corridor of the Strait of Hormuz [9][13][35][38]. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian retaliation would trigger strikes at "a much harder and higher level" and that a prepared larger attack would leave "very little" of Iran [1][6][10].
US Central Command stated the strikes targeted IRGC air-defense sites, radar systems, maritime infrastructure, mine-laying capabilities, and communications stations, in response to attempted IRGC attacks on commercial shipping and American service members [5][19][27][34]. An unnamed US official described the operation to Axios as "mow the lawn" [6]. Axios also reported that the operation included the first US strikes on two Iranian government tankers under a new "tanker for tanker" policy approved by Trump, with drone-launched missiles hitting their engine rooms [24]. Iran's foreign ministry rejected the US mining allegations as fabricated, and Iran's UN representative Gholamhossein Darzi told the United Nations the Larak Island strike violated Iranian sovereignty, framing Iran's subsequent attacks on US bases in Jordan as "defensive and proportionate" self-defense [25][40]. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Washington "fabricates a lie to justify its crimes" [8][14].
The IRGC and Iran's joint military command vowed "crushing and devastating blows" against the United States, stating that successful ballistic-missile strikes had hit Camp Titin in Jordan, US facilities in Erbil, and Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain [8][10][15][19]. IRGC spokesman Ibrahim Zulfikari said retaliation would continue until Washington "repents" [15]. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei promised "unforgettable lessons" [22]. Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE each reported their air defenses engaged and largely neutralized incoming Iranian missiles and drones, with few or no casualties [7][11][14][20][22]. A US official told Al Jazeera there were no injuries at Camp Titin [22]. The UAE dismissed an IRGC assertion of an attack on Al-Minhad Air Base as "unfounded" [18][25].
Iran's Red Crescent and provincial officials reported that US strikes killed at least four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50 when shrapnel hit a home hosting a wedding celebration in Sirik county [7][8][13][14]. Iranian state media later raised the death toll to 11, including seven in Khuzestan province [29]. CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins responded that "the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC" [7][14][24].
The tanker attacks drew condemnation from Gulf states and international bodies. The UAE described the strikes as "acts of piracy by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard," Saudi Arabia called them a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, and the GCC, Arab League, Bahrain, Qatar, the UN Secretary-General, and the IMO all demanded the Strait's immediate, unconditional reopening [39][41]. Iran's delegate to the UN Security Council asserted the Strait falls within Iran's territorial waters and accused the US of "a crime of piracy" through its blockade [41]. Iranian officials demanded that tanker traffic pass by Larak Island for checks, reportedly requiring vessels to pay $2 million to cross [25][32]. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that an intensified US blockade would draw a military response and that "if the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil" [14][16][32].
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would "economically asphyxiate" Iran through weekly bank sanctions and predicted new pipelines would make the Strait of Hormuz "worthless" within two years [10][12][16][27]. Central Bank of Iran Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati responded that Tehran has sufficient foreign currency reserves, stating "Iran has currency and it has enough" [9]. Trump posted AI-generated videos on Truth Social showing oil infrastructure exploding, which Iranian officials called "laughable" [25][33]. Vice President JD Vance described the posts as "sending a message" [33][48].
Oil prices extended gains after the exchanges, with Brent crude at $95.40 and WTI at $90.66 [26]. Tanker Trackers reported daily crude exports through the Strait at 3.8 million barrels per day, down from 9.8 million during the 25-day June ceasefire [30]. Analyst Priyanka Sachdeva of Phillip Nova said the market is "no longer pricing just the risk of war; it is increasingly pricing the cost of an unresolved war" [26]. PVM analyst John Evans said the tit-for-tat exchanges "bring validation to those who believe that this conflict will run and run" [9]. Mine-warfare experts at RAND and King's College London warned that no clearance of the Strait can be guaranteed permanent as long as Iran retains large mine stockpiles [31].
President Masoud Pezeshkian stated Iran would "immediately reciprocate" if Washington honors its June memorandum commitments, adding that "continuing the war is in no one's interest" [7][9][14][17][33]. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said "the path to a solution is completely clear and simple: the United States must return to its commitments" [18]. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Qatar and its mediation partners are working toward "a diplomatic resolution that guarantees that the strait is open," with no "tangible result" yet [8]. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told SCO leaders the June peace framework "remains the best prospect for peace" [47]. Russia's Vladimir Putin reportedly told Pezeshkian that Russia stands in solidarity with Iran, and China stated opposition to the US sanctions campaign [10][30].
Peru announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Iran, citing Tehran's disruption of Strait of Hormuz commerce and obstruction of IAEA inspections [15][29][45]. The IAEA called with "utmost urgency" for resolution of the verification gap created by lack of access to Iranian nuclear sites, while Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said inspectors cannot examine militarily struck facilities until new protocols are developed [42]. US legal scholars argued the naval blockade constitutes an act of war under historical legal definitions and that the War Powers Resolution's 60-day clock has never stopped [43]. In East Africa, governments reported fuel costs doubling or tripling, with Mozambique's Treasury Secretary stating roughly 80 percent of the country's fuel transits the Strait [46].
The US State Department renewed its Middle East travel warning, citing "the potential for unforeseen escalation" [20][22]. The White House stated the US now controls the Strait and ships are free to navigate without fear of Iranian reprisals [30], while the IRGC stated that US attacks have only strengthened Iran's resolve and tightened its closure of the waterway [17][26].