US strikes dozens of IRGC targets in Iran as war engulfs Jordan, Iraq and Egypt

The overnight barrage

US Central Command said its forces completed a "heavy wave of strikes against Iran" early Thursday, hitting dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets over two hours. The operation, which ran from 0000 to 0200 GMT, struck military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance posts and naval assets. CENTCOM described the strikes as a direct response to Tuesday evening's Iranian ballistic missile attack on US bases in Jordan, all of which were intercepted.

“The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighbouring Gulf countries.”

The Fars news agency, citing Hormozgan Medical University, reported that three members of one family were killed on Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz: the father, the mother and their two-year-old child. Two other children were wounded. The account cannot be independently verified. Explosions were reported across the south as well: IRNA said several cities in Khuzestan province in the southwest were hit, among them Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz, and Iranian media also reported strikes at Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Kazerun and the island of Kish.

Trump's warning and the widening war

Hours before the strikes, President Donald Trump had promised to hit Iran "very hard" after the missile launches against US troops in Jordan. The IRGC, meanwhile, declared that resistance would continue as long as threats against the Islamic Republic persist. The exchange ended a nearly week-long pause in hostilities and dashed hopes of a quick return to negotiations.

“As long as the threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue... the resistance will continue.”

Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted five Iranian missiles on Thursday morning, the second such salvo in as many days. No casualties were reported. The kingdom has become a primary Iranian target. CENTCOM puts the number of US troops still deployed across the region as a whole at more than 50,000. Kuwait, another US ally hosting American forces, said an Iranian strike on Thursday hit a Chinese firm's building in the north of the country, severely damaging it and killing a worker. Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait have been the states worst hit by Iran since the truce collapsed.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia drawn in

On Wednesday, US and Saudi forces carried out joint air strikes on bases belonging to Iran-aligned militias in eastern Iraq. The Hashed al-Shaabi alliance said at least 20 of its fighters had been killed and 32 wounded. Accounts of the Iranian dead differ: the Associated Press reported six Iranian military advisers killed on top of the 20, while French wire copy puts it at 20 dead including five Iranians. Iraq's presidency denounced the strikes as "an unacceptable attack and a flagrant violation of sovereignty".

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, had reported two days of drone attacks on its crude facilities, blaming Iraqi armed groups loyal to Tehran. The joint operation marked the first time Riyadh has publicly joined Washington in strikes during the five-month war.

Egypt and the maritime front

Drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey. A US-owned floating storage facility and a Greek-owned tanker were hit. Egypt's Petroleum Ministry confirmed a fire at the port but did not mention a drone attack. No injuries were reported, and responsibility remained unclear.

The incident threatened to pull Egypt, a close US ally and regional mediator, into direct military action for the first time since the war began in February. It followed a Houthi declaration of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and came as the US imposed fresh sanctions on entities accused of extorting commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil and the economic toll

Oil prices gave up some of their gains on Thursday after one of the sharpest spikes of the conflict. Brent crude, which settled 7.91% higher on Wednesday at just above $90 a barrel, fell $1.29 to $89.45. West Texas Intermediate slipped 56 cents to $83.90. The moves reversed a 5% plunge on Tuesday, when a brief pause in fighting had calmed markets.

The Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, remains a central fault line. Iran says it now controls the waterway, and the continued fighting is drawing down already diminished US munitions stockpiles while eroding American public support for the conflict.