Iran has rejected an Omani proposal to divide the Strait of Hormuz into two equal shipping lanes, declared that the waterway will "never return to its prewar situation," and launched a surprise ballistic missile attack on US forces in Jordan, the most serious escalation since the interim deal between the two collapsed earlier this month.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in an interview with Iranian state television that Oman had proposed splitting the strait into two routes, each handling 50% of shipping traffic.

Tehran rejected the plan and offered a counterproposal for a temporary arrangement under which vessels would transit exclusively through Iranian territorial waters. "Iran's policy is for the strait never to return to its prewar situation," Gharibabadi said.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the army's deputy chief, left no ambiguity about Tehran's position.

"No movement will take place in the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's permission," he said. "The Iranian Navy has full control over the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz, the northern Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman."

The IRGC separately said it had stopped and boarded three tankers in the strait, reiterating that it retained full control of the waterway.

The Hormuz statements came hours before the IRGC launched multiple ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan in what CENTCOM described as an attempted surprise attack.

"At 5:45pm ET today, IRGC forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East," CENTCOM said. "

All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted." Jordan's army separately confirmed it had intercepted five Iranian missiles.

The IRGC said the strike was part of Operation Nasr 2, targeting an airbase and CENTCOM's headquarters in Jordan. US forces had only minutes to intercept the incoming missiles, US President Donald Trump said.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump did not moderate his language. "We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating," he said, adding that Washington would deliver "a hard lesson" to Iran.

Oil markets reacted immediately, with prices jumping 5% on fears of supply disruptions.

Tehran's proxy escalation

Hours after intercepting the Iranian missiles in Jordan, US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple logistics and weapons sites belonging to Iran-linked groups across eastern Iraq in response to what CENTCOM said were more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks over the previous 72 hours.

Saudi Arabia said its forces had intercepted drones targeting crude facilities and blamed Iraq-based groups allied with Tehran.

The Hashd al-Shaabi — the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state-integrated paramilitary umbrella created in 2014 and now including Iran-backed brigades that frequently act independently — said at least 20 of its members were killed across seven provinces including Baghdad.

It denounced "a dangerous escalation" against what it described as "an official security institution."

Trump said the strikes had been coordinated with Baghdad in advance. The Iraqi presidency nonetheless condemned them as "an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty," without naming the US or Saudi Arabia.

Tehran-aligned factions reacted more sharply: Saraya Awliya al-Dam called for the expulsion of the Saudi ambassador and the severance of diplomatic ties, while Harakat al-Nujaba warned that Washington and Riyadh would "pay a heavy price."

Iran's Foreign Ministry accused both countries of violating Iraqi sovereignty. A planned visit by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Saudi Arabia was postponed.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella for the most active pro-Tehran factions in the country, has claimed hundreds of attacks on US bases across the region since the war began but has not publicly claimed responsibility for any strikes since fighting resumed earlier this month.

"Tehran is now using its proxy network to sustain leverage while the diplomatic track absorbs international attention," Saudi analyst Hesham Alghannam said.

"The proxy war is the continuation of the direct war by other means, and it is being run with considerable strategic coherence."

Meanwhile, Israel accused Hezbollah of launching an explosive drone at an Israeli engineering vehicle inside Lebanese territory, calling it "a blatant violation of the ceasefire."

Israel fought alongside the US during the first weeks of the war against Iran but has not joined the latest round of strikes.

In Yemen, a minister in the internationally recognised government accused the Tehran-backed Houthis of operating under Iranian guidance to establish a fee system for ships transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The Houthis have so far said their blockade applies only to Saudi ports and vessels, but their campaign during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza showed they can make the Red Sea impassable to commercial shipping.