Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Forces; Sirens Sound in Jordan
Iran's state media confirms missiles and drones launched at U.S. military positions. Air raid sirens activated in Jordan. IRGC claims large U.S. troop casualties, unconfirmed by Washington.
Developing story — this page will be updated as information becomes available.
Iran has launched missile and drone strikes against U.S. military positions, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency confirmed Tuesday, escalating a military exchange that began hours earlier with U.S. Central Command strikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets inside Iran. Air raid sirens were activated in Jordan, and the IRGC’s official military spokesperson claimed Iranian forces killed a large number of U.S. troops at a base in that country.
What We Know
Iran’s Fars news agency reported that “Iranian missiles and drones [are] firing at enemy positions,” according to Middle East Monitor. The report came after U.S. Central Command confirmed earlier Tuesday that American forces began striking IRGC targets at 12 p.m. ET in response to Tehran’s attacks on U.S. military assets in the region.
President Trump described the operation as “large and powerful strikes near the Strait of Hormuz,” warning Tehran against retaliation, per Middle East Monitor. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported explosions east of Bandar Abbas; Fars separately reported a U.S. missile strike near Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan province, per Middle East Eye. The BBC confirmed a new barrage of U.S. strikes was underway and that CENTCOM accused Iran of targeting commercial shipping and American service members.
Following the start of U.S. strikes, IRGC military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari posted on X/Twitter that Iran targeted a U.S. base in Jordan and “killed a large number of US forces,” according to the Jerusalem Post. Zolfaghari also stated that Iran “will no longer exercise restraint regarding Bahrain and Kuwait.” Air raid sirens sounded in Jordan around the same time, the Jerusalem Post reported. Additionally, Middle East Eye reported at least two civilians were killed and others injured when a U.S. strike hit the area of a wedding ceremony in Sirik, in southern Iran.
What We Don’t Know
The U.S. has not confirmed or denied any troop casualties in Jordan. The scope of damage from Iranian missile and drone strikes on U.S. positions remains unconfirmed. It is unclear whether Iranian strikes have affected Hormuz transit or commercial shipping lanes beyond the tanker incidents reported earlier today. This is a developing situation.
Context
The exchange follows a rapid sequence of events. Two Saudi oil tankers were struck in the Strait of Hormuz earlier Tuesday, and oil prices briefly surpassed $91 per barrel on the news. Iran had previously claimed strikes on U.S. military bases in Jordan and the UAE in the early hours of Tuesday, a claim that lacked U.S. confirmation at the time. The CENTCOM announcement of retaliatory strikes at noon ET represented the first publicly confirmed direct U.S. military action against targets inside Iran in this cycle. Iran’s confirmed missile and drone response marks the first time the regime has officially acknowledged an active counter-strike against U.S. positions since those U.S. strikes began.
What to Watch
- Whether CENTCOM issues a battle-damage assessment or confirms or denies the IRGC’s casualty claims from the Jordan strike.
- Whether Iran expands strikes to Bahrain or Kuwait, as the IRGC spokesperson explicitly threatened.
- Oil market reaction when futures open Wednesday morning, given an active two-way military exchange now confirmed by both sides.
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