Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that its forces targeted US aircraft at the al-Azraq air base in Jordan as part of its response to US strikes across southern Iran that began on Wednesday night.
The IRGC claimed the attack hit F-35, F-15, and F-16 fighter jets and destroyed US military facilities. So far, there’s been no confirmation of the damage from the US, but the US has consistently downplayed Iranian attacks on its bases and has attempted to cover up damage done during the war by pressuring satellite imagery companies not to release war-related images.
For its part, Jordan claimed its forces intercepted 20 missiles and that no casualties or damage were inflicted. “At dawn on Thursday, Jordanian air defense systems and the Royal Jordanian Air Force intercepted and shot down 20 missiles that had been launched from Iran towards the Azraq area in Zarqa governorate,” a Jordanian military official said, according to AFP.
“The interception resulted in the fall of a number of fragments, without any human casualties or material damage,” the official added.
The IRGC also said that its forces struck US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain and that it targeted a total of 18 US military installations across the region. US Central Command said that its strikes on Iran targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran.”
After the US began its attacks on Wednesday night, the Iranian military’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced that it would completely shut the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic. CENTCOM claimed on Thursday that ships continue to transit the waterway.
Another exchange of strikes is expected as Trump said on Thursday morning that Iran would get hit “very hard” at night, which would mark the third straight night of US attacks on the country. He also threatened that the US would eventually be “taking” Iran’s Kharg Island, suggesting he’s prepared to order some sort of ground operation.
