Iran’s deputy foreign minister says the US “must be taught a lesson and excluded from the region” after its forces struck an Iranian missile launcher on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz amid a renewed escalation of the months-long confrontation, Fars News Agency reported following the US Attack On Sunday.
In response, Tehran lobbed ballistic missiles at US soldiers deployed in Jordan. Those projectiles were successfully intercepted by Jordan’s air defence system with the help of international partners, with no reported damage sustained.
The attack in the Strait of Hormuz is the first public US military strike against Iran in nearly a month, ending a period of relative calm after two and a half months in conflict as discussions on reaching an arrangement governing navigation through the global trade routes remain shaky.
The strait, along which a great portion of the world’s oil supplies are transported, is in large part controlled by Tehran but Washington wants guaranteed open access to the Strait.
The re-escalation of fighting between Iran and the US comes amid concerns of wider escalation throughout the Middle East and may further weaken already tense negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at normalising their relationship.
