Iran and its Arab neighbors were plunged back into war on Wednesday by the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July, with US forces striking Iran's southern coast and Iran firing at American bases across the region.
This video grab taken from footage released by the Iranian state broadcaster (IRIB) shows what it says are drones launched by the army against US bases. (Photo: AFP)
The United States threatened more devastating strikes. Iran accused Washington of hitting a wedding party, killing five people and wounding dozens.
Asian and European stocks fell after the renewed US airstrikes, which pushed oil prices back up to levels unseen since July, compounding the economic impact of a global sell-off in bonds as disrupted energy supplies fuel inflation worldwide.
The US military's Central Command said it struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites on Tuesday. Iranian media reported hits on multiple targets near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway where Tehran has threatened tankers attempting to pass without its permission.
Iran responded by striking what it said were US assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq, and said its aim was now to drive US forces out of the vast network of military bases they have maintained for decades across the Middle East.
"American evil in the region will be met with heavier, more widespread, and devastating responses, and any country that cooperates with the aggressive American army must accept its dangerous consequences," Iran's military command said.
Jordan's military said it dealt with 13 missiles, 10 of which were intercepted and three which fell in remote areas. The IRGC said it killed a large number of US forces in Jordan, but US officials told Reuters there had not been any casualties, according to initial assessments.
This video grab taken from footage released by the Iranian Red Crescent Society shows what it says is the aftermath of US strike on a wedding ceremony in southern Sirik county in Hormozgan province in southern Iran. (Photo: AFP)
In Kuwait, Iran said it had carried out a missile and drone attack on the vast US Ali Al Salem Air Base and targeted the accommodation of a US commander. Kuwait's fire service said crews put out a blaze at a residential complex early on Wednesday that was struck by an Iranian drone causing damage but no casualties.
Qatar, home of the largest US airbase in the Gulf, said it "holds the Islamic Republic of Iran fully legally responsible for these attacks and their repercussions and consequences." Bahrain, which houses the regional headquarters of the US Navy, said Iranian drones were intercepted and destroyed.
The IRGC said its ground forces carried out combined missile and drone attacks on US bases in Erbil in northern Iraq, claiming to have killed several US personnel there. Neither Iraq nor the US confirmed the attack.
Iran also said two tankers had been struck by mines while being steered across the Strait of Hormuz by US operatives through a channel that Tehran says it has closed.
Iran says wedding struck
Iran reported at least 12 deaths from the night of US strikes, with five people including a four-year-old said to have been killed while celebrating a wedding at a home in Sirik, a town along the coast of the strait.
Iranian media said as many as 68 people were wounded there, and released images of several injured children in hospital. Iranian officials compared the incident to a strike on a girls' school that killed 160 people on the war's first night.
The US are yet to comment on the strike.