Iran has launched attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Jordan after American forces resumed strikes against Iran, according to Iranian state media and Jordan’s armed forces.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at a US Marine base in Aqaba, Jordan, early on Wednesday. The action was described as retaliation for a reported US missile strike in the southern Iranian city of Sirik.
The Jordanian Armed Forces said air defences intercepted 13 ballistic missiles. It said 10 were destroyed and three landed in remote areas, with no deaths or injuries reported. Jordan’s national security centre had issued warnings to residents in the Aqaba and Mafraq governorates about possible falling debris, according to the state-linked network, before later ending the alert.
Iranian state media also reported attacks affecting US facilities elsewhere in the region. Kuwait’s army said its air defences were responding to Iranian missile attacks early Wednesday, while several explosions were reported in Bahrain following Iranian attacks.
Reports of casualties in southern Iran
The Iranian Red Crescent said a US missile attack in Sirik killed four people, including a child, after shrapnel struck a house hosting a wedding celebration. It said more than 50 people were injured.
US Central Command said its strikes followed what it called recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The command said US forces began targeting IRGC positions at 12:00 ET on Tuesday and completed the operation early Wednesday.
Iranian state media said projectiles struck areas around Chabahar and Konarak, as well as an airport in Jiroft. It also reported explosions on Qeshm island and in Bandar Abbas.
Speaking for US Central Command, Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said the military was aware of Iranian state-media reports concerning Sirik. He said the US military did not target civilians and accused the IRGC of doing so.
The latest exchange follows an earlier escalation this week, when US forces struck two rocket launchers on Larak Island. Tehran subsequently fired missiles at air bases in Jordan and launched a drone toward the United Arab Emirates, according to the report.
A US-Iran memorandum extending a ceasefire had been signed in June but has since expired. The two countries have resumed hostilities, including actions involving shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports. On Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, according to state media, that Iran would reciprocate if the United States again committed to the agreement.
Source: BBC News
