U.S. launches first strikes against Iran in a month

The U.S. military has launched its first strikes against Iran in a month, marking a renewed military escalation after the conflict had increasingly shifted toward economic pressure.

(NBC)- The U.S. military has launched its first strikes against Iran in a month, marking a renewed military escalation after the conflict had increasingly shifted toward economic pressure.

U.S. Central Command said the limited action was carried out to prevent Iranian forces from laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and was aimed at stopping what it described as an imminent threat.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard condemned the attack as a “fatal mistake.”

Iranian state media reported that Iran retaliated by targeting bases in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. A source familiar with the operations said American forces intercepted the attacks targeting Jordan.

President Donald Trump again asserted that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz during an interview with Fox News taped Tuesday.

“We’ve swept it of all the mines. You know, we don’t have mines there now,” Trump said.

Despite that claim, the flow of oil through the critical waterway remains under strain. The national average for gasoline has climbed above $4 a gallon since the war began.

Trump has announced plans to turn to Venezuelan oil to help replenish the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, although details of the arrangement remain unclear.

The renewed tensions with Iran come as the United States also faces an escalating trade dispute with Canada that could put additional pressure on prices for imported goods.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford criticized Trump’s threat to double tariffs on Canadian auto imports to 50% in January, warning that the move could hurt both economies.

“It’d be devastating on both countries, but it’d be definitely devastating on the U.S.,” Ford said.

Trump has argued that he does not want American businesses relying on Canadian imports and has accused Canada of taking advantage of the United States for decades.