cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz
Cargo ships anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz AFPTV/Getty Images

US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and Iran hit back within hours with missile fire toward American bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, the first direct military exchange between Washington and Tehran in more than a month. Brent crude climbed back above $90 a barrel on Monday as the fighting reignited.

US Central Command said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces had been observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strait, a week after the command said it had cleared all mines from the waterway's international shipping lanes. CENTCOM spokesman Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed the strike on the two launchers and said forces remained ready to "protect the free flow of commerce" through the waterway.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the strike killed and wounded "several" soldiers and civilians, without giving a precise toll, and branded it an "act of aggression." CENTCOM rejected that description on Monday, calling its own action "limited, precise" and aimed at minelaying forces it said posed an imminent threat.

Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles fired toward the kingdom early Monday. Separate Iranian strikes targeted a US base in the UAE.

Brent futures for November delivery traded above $90 a barrel Monday, while West Texas Intermediate hovered near $86, up from the mid-$80s late last week as traders priced in fresh disruption risk to a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil.

The war, which began in February after President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, has already cut Gulf exports and pushed up war-risk insurance for tankers transiting the strait. CENTCOM said Monday it had redirected 83 commercial vessels and disabled three since reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports, with no sign yet of a return to the diplomacy that had briefly eased tensions earlier in August.