On Tuesday night, the US military said it had attacked and destroyed five oil tankers with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Gulf.

The IRGC, in response, said early on Wednesday that its naval forces had attacked two US Navy destroyers and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, causing "heavy damage" to the vessels. Centcom denied its warships were hit.

The IRGC also said it had launched ballistic missiles at US military maintenance facilities, hangars and aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted 20 Iranian missiles and that two other missiles fell in unpopulated areas with no casualties reported.

Later on Wednesday, sources told CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that several US fighter jets at the air base were damaged in the Iranian strikes.

One A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft was hit and was missing a wing, and about eight F-15s sustained light damage, according to people familiar with the matter.

Explosions were reported in southern Iran on Wednesday night, but Iranian official sources denied they were US strikes, saying the sounds came from the sea.

In a separate development on Tuesday, the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on south-western Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, causing fires at several oil facilities.

Saudi media reported more Houthi attacks on the kingdom on Wednesday, citing a military spokesman as condemning missile and drone strikes on the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Jazan.

The Houthis have said they are retaliating for days of Saudi air strikes on their territory in western Yemen, where a four-year-old informal ceasefire has collapsed.

Read More