Iran launched ballistic missile and drone strikes against two U.S. military bases in Jordan and targeted U.S. military assets in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, marking the first active military exchange between the two countries in roughly a month. The strikes came in direct retaliation for U.S. airstrikes carried out Sunday night on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its combined operation struck the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan, claiming to have destroyed technical and repair infrastructure and fighter deployment sites, causing what it described as heavy damage. Jordan's military confirmed intercepting eight incoming missiles but did not identify their origin.

The U.S. military said its strike on Larak Island was a limited, precise action against IRGC forces that were preparing to launch rockets carrying naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command rejected Iran's characterization of the strike as an act of aggression, saying on social media that Iran had created the threat and U.S. forces eliminated it to protect civilian mariners and global commerce. The IRGC said the American attack killed and wounded Iranian soldiers and civilians, and an IRGC spokesperson accused the U.S. of making a strategic and fatal mistake that would carry consequences in both military and economic arenas. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately condemned the Larak Island strike as a direct violation of national sovereignty.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking through state media, said Iran was not seeking war but would never remain passive in response to aggression, warning that Iran would deliver a decisive response to any attacker. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written message calling the United States and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations and urging Muslim-majority governments to recognize and confront what he described as their real enemy. Also on Monday, a supertanker struck two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, catching fire and coming to a complete halt, according to Iranian state television citing an IRGC statement. The IRGC said the tanker had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally and warned that other vessels violating its regulations would face the same fate.

President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform Monday that Iran's Kharg Island, a major oil export hub, was being blown to smithereens, though Iran had not confirmed or responded to those claims as of the latest reports. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was expected to use a G20 finance ministers gathering this week to intensify efforts to isolate Iran economically. Meanwhile, Iranian President Pezeshkian was scheduled to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to hold bilateral talks with both Pezeshkian and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The escalation adds fresh urgency to diplomatic efforts to resolve a six-month-old conflict that has disrupted global oil supply and unsettled international markets.