Alwaght- Following US strike on positions in Iran’s Larak Island, Iran’s armed forces fired back with a missile attack on US targets in Jordan. At the same time, Tehran announced that ships and tankers in the Persian Gulf were now in its crosshairs. Tension and the specter of confrontation have once again encompassed the region, raising an urgent question: Are Tehran and Washington on the brink of yet another wider war?
Iran's swift response
Iran had repeatedly warned it would deliver a crushing response to any enemy aggression, and its armed forces lost no time in acting on that pledge. In retaliation for the US strike, they hit multiple American positions across the region.
In a statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ public relations office declared: "Our noble and resolute Iranian people, with 183 nights of unwavering, historic mass presence on the streets, have left the enemy in shock and bewilderment, bringing hope to the oppressed and pride to the warriors of Islam."
"The brave fighters of the IRGC Aerospace Force, in response to the US-Zionist aerial aggression against Larak Island, carried out a punitive operation against the aggressors. In a combined missile-and-drone strike, code-named ‘O Muhammad ibn Abdullah,’ they obliterated technical and maintenance infrastructure as well as enemy fighter-jet positions at two US air bases in Jordan, King Hussein and Al-Azraq, inflicting heavy damage with ballistic missiles. Aggression and criminality will not resolve the enemy’s desperation to weaken the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. Every shot fired will be met with even more devastating retaliation," the statement read.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on the US military attack on the Iranian island, emphasizing that the country’s armed forces will not hesitate to exercise their inherent right to self-defense and will respond decisively and proportionately to any military aggression. The statement made clear that the United States bears full responsibility for the consequences of its new aggressive acts, its continued naval blockade, and its economic war against Iran, along with any parties that in any way collaborate in or facilitate America’s unlawful and transgressive actions.
The Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said that "these aggressive acts will receive a fitting response. We view them as military aggression against our country. Naturally, as our courageous armed forces have already demonstrated, any action against our territorial integrity, at any level, will be met with a resolute reply. Foreign powers must be expelled from this region once and for all, and they must learn a serious lesson not to repeat their aggressions against our nation."
Iran’s swift reaction to the American adventurism made clear that its armed forces remain at peak readiness and will not let any hostile act go unanswered.
It is noteworthy that Larak Island is not merely a military target. Its geopolitical position, adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, gives it particular strategic weight. Any strike on Larak directly implicates the security of shipping, tanker traffic, and one of the world’s most vital energy transit chokepoints.
In recent months, Iran has expanded its operational reach well beyond the Persian Gulf, turning U.S. positions in Jordan into targets for its missile strikes, a development that has deepened Washington’s concerns about Tehran’s military power and missile capabilities.
Iran's missile message for the Americans
The missile strike on Jordan, which some media reports say inflicted heavy damage on American military equipment, is being read by analysts as a clear message to Washington's leadership.
Hassan Hanizadeh, a West Asia affairs expert, told Alwaght that "Iran’s latest missile attack on the two major American bases in Jordan, which serve as staging grounds for American forces in the country’s east and south, demonstrates that Iran will show no hesitation or leniency in defending its territorial integrity. That is precisely why, when the US struck Larak Island without any justification, Iran’s armed forces responded immediately and struck two strategic American bases in Jordan. This sends a very clear and unmistakable message to the US and the warmongers in Washington: by hitting American logistics hubs and troop concentrations, Tehran has shown it is fully prepared to counter any US adventurism. This should serve as a deterrent against reckless moves by Donald Trump and his hawkish team."
Washington incapable of waging war afresh
While Trump and his administration continue to float the possibility of renewed military action against Iran, with the US president even threatening to destroy Kharg Island, many media outlets and analysts believe Washington currently lacks the capacity and readiness to plunge into another full-blown confrontation with Tehran.
"Given the US repeated failures over the past six months, since its war of attrition against Iran began, and US Central Command’s inability to shift the balance on the ground, there appear to be real divisions between the political and military wings of the US government. The wave of resignations by Pentagon generals protesting Trump’s hawkish policies and his team’s warmongering shows how difficult the situation has become for Washington, especially with midterm elections looming," Hanizadeh said.
The Iranian political analysts added that polling suggests the Republican Party’s popularity has cratered due to Trump’s aggressive and erratic behavior toward Iran, as well as the heavy costs this futile war has imposed on the American people. The president is in no position to manage this conflict, and under these circumstances, he cannot keep up his adventurism against Iran.
That is why, Hanizadeh said, it seems Trump is now trying to find a face-saving way out of this quagmire through other means, like ramping up sanctions to force Iran to submit, but the Iranian people have now spent more than 185 days and nights in the streets, ready to fiercely defend their nation’s independence and territorial integrity.
“So, when the US president periodically launches these kinds of strikes on Iranian urban facilities, he is trying to project the illusion that he still holds the battlefield initiative. But Iran’s crushing responses will leave the American warmongers with nothing but regret," Hanizadeh maintained.
Asked how Tehran would respond if Washington presses ahead with its provocations, the West Asia expert replied: "If the US persists in its adventurism against Iran like targeting residential areas, urban infrastructure, and military sites, Iran’s armed forces and the entire establishment will mount a counter-mechanism and deliver a devastating answer to any further aggression. All political factions in Iran agree that Trump’s provocations must not go unanswered. The will of the Iranian people stands firmly against American hegemony and its aggressive policies toward Iranian nation."
That is why Iran will deploy a new generation of ballistic missiles in the coming period, weapons designed to reshape the battlefield calculus far more decisively than before. The balance of power on the ground is about to shift.
Reports now indicate that American forces in the region are exhausted. After six months of confrontation, they have effectively lost their operational edge against Iran. Pressure is mounting on the Pentagon generals and the White House, from within the military itself, to bring this war to an end, because after half a year, Donald Trump and his hawkish team have nothing to show for it, according to Hanizadeh.
Additionally, reports show that more than 22 US military bases across the region have been taken out of service over the past six months due to Iranian missile strikes, held Hanizadeh. The longer this conflict drags on, the more CENTCOM footprint in the region will erode, and that serves no American interests. Actually, protracted, attritional war will inflict serious damage on the the US in the long run.
