Iran targets US base in Jordan, Houthis strike Saudi Arabia

A US air base in Jordan was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles on Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, while Yemen's Houthi movement launched missiles toward Saudi Arabia in the latest escalation involving Iran's allies across the region.

The IRGC said the attack targeted a US air base in Jordan and called on Jordanians to dismantle American bases in the kingdom.

"You know very well that not only do we not have any enmity with your country, but we also love ‌you, the noble people, who understand the pain and oppression of the Palestinian people more than any other nation," the IRGC said in a statement carried by Fars News Agency.

Jordan's armed forces said on Tuesday they intercepted and shot down four missiles that entered Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory, according to its state news agency.

US forces completed their latest wave of strikes on Iran, concluding an operation launched earlier in the day by the US Central Command under the direction of President Donald Trump. The five-hour operation marked the third consecutive night of US strikes on Iran, as Trump reinstated a blockade targeting Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee for guarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media reported strikes on several cities, saying four people were wounded and that rescue operations were underway.

Trump earlier told the "Hugh Hewitt Show" on Monday that Iran would be hit "very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there's not a damn thing they can do about it."

The latest hostilities come after Iran said at the weekend it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, casting further doubt on an interim deal to halt the war and driving oil prices higher.

"The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE," Trump said earlier on Monday on Truth Social.

"The USA will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,' but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped."

Iran's top joint military command said the US had no role in determining the future of the waterway. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Tehran was the guardian of the strait and would remain so "forever," adding in response to Trump that "20% is of course too much. We will be fair."

Before the conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world's oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily, delivering more than 15 million barrels of fuel to global markets worth at least $1.2 billion. If the US were to impose a 20% fee, it could generate around $240 million a day.

The UN shipping agency pushed back against Trump's proposal, saying it opposes any fees for straits used in international navigation and stressing that there is no legal basis for introducing mandatory tolls on strait transits.

Oil prices rose nearly 3% on Tuesday to their highest in four weeks, as the US reimposed its naval blockade of Iran, with the attacks in the Strait of Hormuz heightening uncertainty about energy flows.

UAE says Iranian missiles hit two ships in Hormuz

The UAE Ministry of Defense said on Monday that Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers while transiting the southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while traveling 40 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Qalhat.

The IRGC said two "offending" supertankers had been hit and disabled in the strait after ignoring repeated warnings and turning off navigation systems, Iranian media reported.

The IRGC's statement did not name the vessels or say whether they were the same tankers cited by the UAE ministry. It accused the US of "inciting vessels to use an illegal route" and warned that cooperation with the "aggressor enemy" would result in damage, delays in reopening the waterway and a global energy crisis.

The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said a blockade of Iran would take effect at 2000 GMT on Tuesday and apply to all vessel traffic regardless of flag, covering the entire Iranian coastline, including ports and oil terminals.

It said the measure would not impede neutral transit passage through the strait to or from non-Iranian destinations, and humanitarian shipments would be permitted subject to inspection.

Houthi missiles target Saudi Arabia

In a further sign of widening regional escalation, Yemen's Houthi movement fired missiles toward Saudi Arabia after accusing Riyadh of carrying out airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport, which is under Houthi control.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles "launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the southern region," according to a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, marking the first claimed Houthi attack on Saudi territory since an informal truce took effect in March 2022.

The Houthis said Saudi strikes on Sanaa airport had ended a period of de-escalation and warned airlines against flying in Saudi airspace until restrictions on the airport were lifted.

Yemen's internationally recognized government said it carried out the strikes on Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in violation of Yemeni sovereignty. It said the aircraft later landed at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport.

The latest exchange threatened to reignite fighting along Saudi Arabia's southern border after a period of relative calm. A wider conflict with the Houthis, who have previously targeted Red Sea shipping, could pose further risks to regional security and energy flows. 

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthis, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, though a 2022 truce between Riyadh and the group has largely held.

(With input from Reuters)