US strikes Iran following failed missile attack on American troops in Middle East

The US military said early Thursday it had completed what it described as a heavy wave of strikes against Iran conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a US base in JordanUS Central Command said in a social media post that over the span of two hours they struck dozens of targets belonging to Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps including military command centres as well as missile and drone facilities and coastal surveillance and defense sitesThe new strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran very hard after it targeted a base in Jordan that hosts US troops Iranian state media said two people were injured in attacks on the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz and that explosions were also reported in Khuzestan province to the northwestElsewhere drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta according to British maritime security firm Ambrey It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes on a USowned floating storage facility and a Greekowned tanker No injuries were reportedThe flareups on multiple fronts after several days of relative calm raised the risk of a return to allout war It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a fivemonth conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans The fighting was also likely to add to concerns that the US is further drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and alliesEgypt a close US ally and regional mediator is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have been spared direct military action during the war A strike by Iran or its allies if confirmed would mark a significant widening of the conflictAsked during an Oval Office event if Iran was responsible for the strikes on the natural gas vessels Trump responded Its a little more of the same In the meantime were going to be hitting them very hard because its our turn to hit them he addedSaudi Arabia had accused the Iraqi militias of firing drones against its oil facilities over the past two days An umbrella group of Iraqi militias initially denied the allegations while another Iranbacked group the Houthi rebels in Yemen said they had attacked Saudi energy facilities as part of a separate but related conflictSaudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met separately on Wednesday with Trump and Vice President J D Vance according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorised to comment publicly The White House and Vice Presidents office did not respond to requests for commentBefore the latest eruption mediators had expressed optimism about bringing the US and Iran back to the negotiating table An interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz a crucial waterway for global energy supplies that Iranian attacks have again effectively closedA regional official said mediators are still trying with both sides to restore calm and get the ceasefire back on track He gave no details on whether progress was being made and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closeddoor diplomacyRegional countries will continue to push to deescalate the situation said an Arab official adding that prospects for successful mediation were slim as both sides continue to launch attacks on the other and have shown no inclination to stop Were in a very bad place right now said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe an internal assessment of the situationThe renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking Brent crude the international standard jumped 73 per cent to USD 88093 a barrel