©picture alliance / NurPhoto | Morteza Nikoubazl
On Tuesday evening, Iran launched a surprise attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan. This was reported by both the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). All ballistic missiles were intercepted; there were no U.S. casualties.
According to the U.S. news site Axios, the base in Jordan was the explicit target. Earlier this month, two U.S. service members were killed there in an Iranian missile attack. The IRGC confirmed on Wednesday in a statement on the Iranian state broadcaster Press TV that it had fired missiles at U.S. targets in Jordan. The U.S. Central Command ( Centcom ) referred to the incident on X as an “attempted surprise attack” on U.S. troops in the region. “All missiles were successfully intercepted,” Centcom said.
The attack comes after a period of apparent de-escalation. Since Friday, the U.S. military had suspended its airstrikes on Iran. President Donald Trump said he wanted to give the negotiations with Tehran every chance to succeed. Iran had also promised to halt its attacks as long as the U.S. did the same, although Tehran had previously denied that serious talks with Washington were still taking place.
The Iranian action follows a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, where he and Trump discussed primarily the conflict in the Middle East. The timing of the attack, coming immediately after those talks, is seen as a signal from Iran to both Washington and Jerusalem.
The war between Iran and the U.S. seemed to have paused briefly in recent days after nearly two weeks of U.S. airstrikes and Iranian retaliatory attacks. With this surprise attack, however, that ceasefire appears fragile. Both sides are keeping a close eye on each other; any further escalation could lead to a new round of violence in the already tense region.
©picture alliance / NurPhoto | Morteza Nikoubazl