Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday the “brave combatants” of its Aerospace Force “targeted the US air base and the CENTCOM headquarters of the US military in Jordan with several ballistic missiles.”
The IRGC statement implied the attack on U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) struck a devastating blow, and warned more such acts of “resistance” would be carried out, unless the U.S. halts its “illegal and hostile moves” against Iran.
“Threats by U.S. officials and illegal interventions against our interests must stop,” the statement said.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in northeastern Jordan, where CENTCOM maintains a regional command center.
The Jordanian military said all five of Iran’s ballistic missiles were “intercepted and destroyed,” without casualties or damage.
“At 5:45 p.m. ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” CENTCOM confirmed.
“All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted. U.S. forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness,” CENTCOM added.
Senior research fellow Burcu Ozcelik of the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) told Al Jazeera News on Wednesday that Iran may have launched its surprise attack on Jordan to put more pressure on President Donald Trump while mediators try to get Iran back to the negotiating table.
“Iran’s strikes on Jordan last night show that Tehran still believes deterrence is achieved through proactive military action. Reports that US interceptor stockpiles have been running low may also have shaped calculations in the IRGC,” Ozcelik said.
“More broadly, there is a strong sense within the Iranian leadership that it is engaged in an existential struggle and that putting pressure on the Trump administration remains an important objective,” he continued.
Ozcelik said the “moment to watch for” would be “a direct attack that prompts a collective Gulf military response against Iran, as well as the threat that the Houthis escalate in the Bab al-Mandeb.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a coalition of Persian Gulf states, held a joint military exercise in Bahrain on Wednesday. The “Bahrain Shield” drills, which are scheduled to run through Friday, are intended to improve combat readiness and operational planning for GCC forces.
Lt. Gen. Dhiab bin Saqr al-Nuaimi, chief of staff for the Bahrain Defense Force, said the drills would provide a “solid strategic foundation for military solidarity and a firm pillar for standing united against any treacherous attacks.”
“The treacherous attacks witnessed in the region dictate that we develop joint military defence cooperation,” he said.
Bahrain has been attacked by Iran several times in recent weeks, and frequently describes Tehran’s actions as “treacherous” in government statements. Bahrain has accused Iran of deliberately targeting its civilians with “unlawful missile and drone attacks.”
Iran’s attack on Jordan may have been intended to energize the Jordanian opposition, which has grown increasingly hostile to the American presence on Jordanian soil amid Iranian missile and drone strikes.
Last week, several hundred Jordanian opposition political figures signed an open letter calling for all U.S. forces to leave the country. The government did not officially respond to the letter.
“We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political, and economic risks that serve no national interest and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party,” the letter said.
President Donald Trump was livid at the Iranian attack on Jordan, making a profanity-laced promise to retaliate against Tehran in a Fox News interview on Wednesday morning.
“We are going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them,” Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst. “We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating.”
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