The brief pause in the Iran war ended Wednesday. Iran launched ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan and the Middle East. Jordan’s air defenses intercepted five of them. Hours later, US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck targets in eastern Iraq linked to Iran-backed militias. At least 20 fighters were killed.
The escalation shattered five days of relative calm, a period in which mediators had reported some progress in negotiations to end a war that began on February 28 with American and Israeli attacks on Iran. The immediate trigger appears to be a confluence of military and political signals: US assets building up in Israel, the Trump-Netanyahu meeting in Washington on Tuesday, and Iran’s desire to demonstrate that it can still strike.
The Middle East Institute’s Jason Campbell told Al Jazeera there were a number of motivations for why Iran chose this moment to resume attacks. Among them: sending a message that Tehran retains the capacity to hit US forces despite months of bombing, and testing the new US force posture in the region.
Jordan’s military said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed five missiles launched from Iran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard claimed its Aerospace Force fired ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and the headquarters of US Central Command in Jordan. The US military said it had successfully intercepted all missiles in what it described as an attempted surprise attack against American forces in the Middle East.
On the Iraq front, US Central Command said it had struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in response to more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks in the previous 72 hours. Saudi Arabia confirmed its participation, warning that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression. The Popular Mobilization Forces, the coalition of Iran-backed armed groups nominally under Iraqi command, said at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 wounded.
Iran also struck back at the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards announced that they had struck and seized three oil tankers attempting to cross the strategic waterway, which Iran has effectively shut since the war began. The move is a reminder that even if US and allied forces can intercept missiles, they cannot fully secure the world’s most important energy chokepoint without controlling the coastline on both sides.
The economic consequences were immediate. Brent crude jumped 3.1 percent to $84.58 a barrel. The spike comes at a moment when the war’s costs are already piling up: four US troops have died in recent weeks, the Pentagon is asking a skeptical Congress for more money, and oil prices and inflation are climbing worldwide.
The political backdrop matters. Trump met with Netanyahu on Tuesday, their first face-to-face since launching the war together. The meeting produced no visible breakthrough on how to end the conflict. Instead, the fighting resumed within hours, as if to remind both leaders that wars have their own logic and that pauses, however welcome, are not endings.