New round of military escalation
In the first direct escalation between Washington and Tehran in weeks, Iran launched missiles at US military targets in Jordan and a drone toward the United Arab Emirates in the early hours of Monday, in response to a US strike that targeted missile platforms on Larak Island, which Washington said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was preparing to use to launch missiles and lay naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump launched a sharp attack on Tehran, describing Iran as a “dead, failed state” and its leadership as being in “complete chaos, with nothing but fake news.” Trump vowed a strong response to Iran after US forces in Jordan were targeted, while simultaneously asserting that Washington’s sanctions on the Iranian regime were beginning to have a powerful impact.
In this context, military sources told Axios that the US president is considering limited strikes against Iran to prevent it from rebuilding its radar and missile capabilities and targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Alongside the military escalation, Washington continued to tighten economic pressure on Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that his ministry would reveal new rounds of sanctions against Iran weekly, with the initial phase focusing on banks dealing with the country. He argued that Iranian regime leaders were resorting to violence amid growing economic losses.
Kuwait expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attack on the UAE, viewing it as a blatant violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a threat to regional security and stability. It also condemned the Iranian attacks targeting the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with multiple missiles.
Below are the details:
Iran and the United States exchanged attacks for the first time in over a month during the night of Monday, an escalation that threatens to reignite the destructive conflict after weeks of relative military calm. Iran launched missiles toward US military targets in Jordan and a drone toward the United Arab Emirates following a strike that targeted Iranian missile launch platforms on Larak Island. Washington stated these platforms were being used to attempt to lay naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv quoted a military source in Tel Aviv as saying the Israeli Defense Forces were monitoring the fighting and were on high alert.
The exchange of strikes came just days after President Donald Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz was free of mines. The US insists on keeping maritime traffic flowing by directing ships and imposing a military blockade on Iranian ports.
Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM), said the US strike on Sunday evening targeted two Iranian missile launch platforms on Larak Island, where Iranian forces were observed preparing to launch mines-laden missiles in the strait. CENTCOM stated that the US military took “limited and precise action” against “Iranian mine-laying forces posing an imminent threat” in the critical waterway. It added, “Iran created the threat, and the US military eliminated it.”
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, President Donald Trump wrote: “Iran is officially a failed state. It is dead! They have no navy, no air force, no currency, and they do not pay their soldiers. Inflation has reached 300%, and their leadership is in complete chaos and unable to properly represent the country.” He added, “They have nothing but fake news from the United States, and they are ready to kill protesters (more than 100,000 dead so far). They must be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.”
Trump also told Fox News, “We will hit them hard... There will be a response.” He added, “We will respond to the Iranian attack on US forces in Jordan... US air defense systems intercepted all missiles except one, which turned out not to hit anything important.” Trump stated that current US sanctions on the Iranian regime were beginning to have a strong impact, noting, “Iran may be a nuisance, but we control the Strait of Hormuz and have removed all mines from it with very limited help from other countries.” He continued, “Iran has become a failed state due to US financial sanctions and pressure... They really want to meet. But I don’t know if you can rely on reaching an agreement with them.”
Hypothetical Destruction of ‘Kharg’
Trump also shared an AI-generated video depicting what he claimed was an attack on Kharg Island, Iran’s strategic oil hub. He wrote in the accompanying post: “Kharg Island explodes into pieces!!!”
In this regard, Vice President JD Vance said on Monday that Trump’s recent posts aimed to send a warning message to Iran regarding its attacks on commercial shipping.
Residents reported hearing explosions near Larak Island, a small landmass off the coast of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. The Iranian state news agency (IRNA) reported that “three people were killed and others injured during the attack.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian said, “We do not seek war... but in the face of aggression, we will not stand idly by, and we are capable of delivering a decisive response.” Speaking on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, he added that continuing the war was not in anyone’s interest. The Iranian Foreign Ministry also announced that Tehran “will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right to self-defense and will respond firmly, as appropriate, to any military aggression.”
For its part, the IRGC described the US strike as a “strategic and fatal mistake” and vowed retaliation.
Jordan Intercepts Eight Missiles
The Jordanian Armed Forces announced that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed eight missiles, neutralizing them before they could pose any threat to civilians or property.
The UAE’s detection of a drone over its territorial waters followed earlier claims by Iranian state media that the IRGC targeted the Al-Mandah base. The UAE denied the base was targeted and condemned the attack as a “serious escalation and unacceptable aggression, posing a direct threat to the country’s security, stability, and territorial integrity,” adding that it “reserves the full right to respond,” according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
Anwar Gargash, advisor to the UAE President, said on Monday, “A state of no war and no peace cannot be a sustainable solution.” He posted on X, “What we need today are realistic and sustainable political solutions to the crisis.”
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the ministry was likely to announce new secondary economic sanctions against Iran weekly, initially focusing on banks. Speaking at a meeting of G20 finance leaders, he added, “Iran is responding with military aggression because sanctions are causing economic pain to the regime. I believe they are resorting to violence because they are losing economically.”
