HARARE — Tensions between Iran and the United States have sharply escalated following conflicting accounts of a high-risk military rescue operation in central Iran and a looming diplomatic deadline over access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The developments have raised fears of wider conflict, with global oil markets and international observers closely monitoring the situation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has carried out a retaliatory strike targeting oil facilities it claims are linked to the United States, marking a further escalation in tensions across the Middle East.