US attacks 5 Iranian oil tankers, Tehran retaliates with strikes on Jordan

Fighting between the US/Israel and Iran flared sharply again in early September after roughly a month of relative calm: following a US strike on Iran's Larak Island, Iran's Revolutionary Guard launched what it called 'Punishment of the Aggressor,' missile and drone strikes on the King Hussein and Al Azraq US bases in Jordan on 31 August (Jordan said it intercepted eight missiles; no injuries reported) and shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz. On 2 September, Iran said a US missile strike killed four people, including two children, at a family wedding in southern Iran, which Iranian officials called a 'war crime'; US Central Command said it 'never targets civilians' and that its strikes -- on air defense sites, radar, maritime assets and minelaying infrastructure -- followed IRGC attempts to attack US forces and shipping in the Strait. Iran responded with missiles and drones at US targets across Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain; most were intercepted, though one Kuwaiti drone strike sparked a residential fire with no casualties. Oil prices rose above $96 a barrel on the escalation.

The exchange peaked on 9 September when CENTCOM said it sank five Iranian oil tankers (the Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1, Riesco in the Gulf of Oman and the Derya near Kharg Island) -- directing crews to abandon ship first -- after accusing Iran's IRGC of twice attempting to target a US warship, which it said 'successfully evaded' the attacks with no American casualties. Iran's Foreign Ministry called the tanker strikes an act of aggression and said its forces retaliated by attacking 10 ships near Hormuz and US military facilities in Jordan 'in accordance with their inherent right of legitimate defence.' Oil prices spiked above $100 a barrel in early trading as the six-month-old war showed no sign of resolution, with Iran maintaining its closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the US continuing its naval blockade of Iranian ports.