The Middle East moved closer to a wider regional conflict in the early hours of Tuesday after Iran launched attacks against US military bases following a new wave of American strikes on Iranian territory, the second such assault within a matter of days.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces struck targets belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including:
- Air-defence installations.
- Radar systems.
- Naval assets and facilities.
- Mine-laying capabilities.
- Communications infrastructure.
In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM announced the completion of the bombing campaign.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 1, 2026
Iran later announced that it had carried out a "decisive retaliatory operation", targeting US "bases and interests" in the region using missiles and attack drones, according to the state news agency Tasnim.
The Revolutionary Guards subsequently stated that they had attacked US bases in:
- Jordan.
- Iraq.
- Bahrain.
US President Donald Trump warned that any further retaliation by Tehran would trigger a stronger American response.
"If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Regional attacks and warnings
The Jordanian Armed Forces announced that they intercepted and destroyed ten ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
According to Jordan, three additional missiles fell in remote, uninhabited areas and no casualties were reported.
Kuwait also announced that it had been targeted by missiles and drones, while air-raid sirens sounded in Bahrain early in the morning, according to journalists from Agence France-Presse.
Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned that Tehran would carry out:
"Greater and more destructive retaliation"
if American attacks continue, while also warning countries cooperating with US military operations.
Casualties reported in Iran
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, four people, including a child, were killed and more than fifty others were injured in an American missile strike in southern Iran.
The latest US attacks came only hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had proposed a return to diplomacy, despite negotiations having been effectively stalled for months.
Pezeshkian said that if the United States honoured commitments contained in the so-called Islamabad memorandum of understanding, signed in mid-June but effectively abandoned weeks later, the Islamic Republic would:
"Immediately take reciprocal measures."
Iranian state television reported multiple explosions in southern Iran near Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island in the Gulf, where one of Iran's key oil-export terminals is located.
State media also reported that an airport in Kerman Province had been targeted.
Energy markets react
The latest American strikes followed reports that two very large oil tankers were hit by "projectiles of unknown origin" while transiting the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, according to the Greek maritime risk-management company MARISKS.
Global energy markets reacted immediately to the renewed hostilities.
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose above the symbolic threshold of $90 per barrel for the first time since late July.
In Europe, natural gas prices climbed to a three-year high.
The surge added to concerns over energy security and inflation, particularly in countries heavily dependent on imported fuel.
US pressure campaign continues
The United States had already launched strikes on Sunday against military targets on an Iranian island, marking the first such operation after roughly a month of relative calm.
Iran responded with attacks on American facilities in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Tehran is also seeking to introduce charges for services provided to vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, where maritime traffic had previously moved freely before the outbreak of the conflict.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration says it intends to impose economic "strangulation" on Iran through additional sanctions, although the precise measures have yet to be detailed.
Iranian authorities have urged citizens to reduce fuel consumption, particularly petrol usage, as Tehran faces difficulties importing fuel because of what it describes as a US naval blockade of Gulf ports.
USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand
Thousands of kilometres away, the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Tuesday morning after spending more than nine months at sea, according to AFP journalists.
The vessel had initially been deployed in the South China Sea before being ordered to sail to the Middle East at the start of the conflict in late February.
The prolonged deployment and worsening living conditions for members of its crew have recently sparked debate and criticism within the United States.
