Iran Strikes US Base in Jordan in Retaliation for Tanker Attacks

TEHRAN:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its aerospace forces launched an attack on a US air base in Jordan early Wednesday, describing the strike as retaliation for recent US attacks on Iranian oil tankers.

According to an IRGC statement, Iranian forces targeted facilities at Al-Azraq Air Base used for the maintenance, preparation and deployment of US Army F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter aircraft. The IRGC claimed the attack inflicted heavy damage on US military infrastructure.

Jordan’s military said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 18 of 20 Iranian ballistic missiles fired towards the country. The remaining two missiles fell in unpopulated areas, causing no casualties, according to the military.

The Iranian strike followed a US military operation in which five Iranian crude oil tankers were destroyed after the IRGC allegedly targeted an American warship with ballistic missiles on two occasions.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the attacks on the tankers took place on Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and near Iran’s Kharg Island, a major oil-export hub. The US warship successfully evaded both missile attacks, and no American personnel were injured.

The tankers destroyed in the Gulf of Oman were identified as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco. A fifth vessel, M/T Derya, was attacked near Kharg Island.

CENTCOM said crews were ordered to abandon the vessels before the strikes. No casualties among the tanker crews were reported.

The US military described the vessels as IRGC-operated crude oil carriers allegedly linked to a multibillion-dollar network financing Iran’s military and regional proxies. It did not disclose the identity of the targeted US warship, the locations of the alleged missile attacks or the number of missiles fired.

The latest US operation was the second attack on Iranian oil tankers in four days, further escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.