Tehran has drawn a hard line in the sand and water. Hours after rejecting an Omani proposal to split the Strait of Hormuz into two equal shipping lanes, Iran launched a surprise ballistic missile attack on US forces in Jordan, marking the sharpest escalation since a fragile interim deal collapsed earlier this month.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television that Oman’s plan, which would have divided traffic 50-50, was unacceptable. Instead, Tehran proposed a temporary arrangement allowing vessels to pass only through Iranian territorial waters. “Iran’s policy is for the strait never to return to its prewar situation,” Gharibabadi said, according to Euro News.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made the message even clearer: “No movement will take place in the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s permission.” The Revolutionary Guard later confirmed it had boarded three tankers, asserting full control of the waterway.
The tough talk was followed by action. At 5:45pm ET, Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles at US bases in the Middle East, according to CENTCOM. All were intercepted, with Jordan’s military confirming it downed five. President Donald Trump, speaking to Fox News, vowed retaliation: “We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating.”
Oil markets jittered, with prices jumping 5% on supply fears.
Hours later, US and Saudi jets struck Iran-linked logistics sites across eastern Iraq, responding to more than 30 drone attacks in three days. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities, while Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces reported at least 20 killed in the strikes.
Baghdad condemned the attacks as a violation of sovereignty, even as Trump insisted they were coordinated with Iraqi authorities. Tehran-aligned factions warned of heavy consequences, and Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused both Washington and Riyadh of overstepping.
Beyond Iraq, tensions simmer elsewhere. Israel accused Hezbollah of breaching a ceasefire with a drone strike on its soil. In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis face accusations of imposing fees on Red Sea shipping, echoing Iran’s grip on Hormuz.
As one analyst put it, “The proxy war is the continuation of the direct war by other means.”
