Iran strikes US military base in Jordan in response to American airstrike on Larak Island; analysts question whether Washington intended to avoid escalation from the outset
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![US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Monday (local time). [AP]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/01/rcv.YNA.20260901.PAP20260901070001009_P1.jpg)
President Donald Trump has warned Iran of severe retaliation after the country struck a US military base in Jordan, as the two nations traded direct blows for the first time in about a month. Should Trump follow through on his threat, military tensions around the Strait of Hormuz could escalate sharply once again.
Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst said Monday (local time) that he had spoken with Trump by phone and that the president told him the United States would hit Iran hard and that "there will be a response."
Trump said US air defenses had intercepted all but one of the missiles Iran fired. The remaining missile was allowed to pass because it was not heading toward any significant target, Yingst said.
Trump also said US sanctions against Iran were having a powerful effect.
The exchange began with a US strike. American forces attacked Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, destroying two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rocket launchers used to lay mines. The military said the launchers had been preparing to reseed the strait with mines.
Iran immediately struck back, firing on a US military base in Jordan.
The US strike on Iran was the first in about a month since Aug. 29. If Trump carries out the retaliatory strike he has signaled, military tensions in the Strait of Hormuz could rise dramatically once more.
However, some analysts note that the US military targeted only two mine-laying rocket launchers on Monday, suggesting Washington may have intended to avoid escalation from the outset.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters the exchange had been a "limited and controlled confrontation," while warning that any further attack would draw a strong response.
Trump had weighed large-scale bombing campaigns against Iran as nuclear talks stalled, but shifted toward tightening economic pressure amid concerns about depleting US weapons stockpiles and the risks of a broader conflict.
On Monday, Trump posted an AI-generated video on Truth Social showing Iran's main oil export hub, Kharg Island, engulfed in flames, claiming it was "being blown to smithereens." Iran shrugged off the post, calling it "laughable."
mokiya@heraldcorp.com
