2 US troops killed, 1 missing in Jordan as Iran strikes Washington allies across the Gulf | World News
An overturned car sits on a section of a destroyed bridge after a strike in Hormozgan province, southern Iran. (Photo: AP)
Two US troops were killed and one remains missing in Jordan after Iran launched a wave of attacks on US allies in the Middle East, as the renewed US bombing campaign against Iran entered its second week.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Kuwait accused Tehran of targeting civilian sites and infrastructure, including a power and desalination plant the country depends on for most of its drinking water.
What did Iran hit, and where?
Jordan’s military said it intercepted 10 Iranian missiles fired into its airspace overnight without reporting damage, though Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps later said it struck a US base in Azraq, Jordan, destroying aircraft and hitting a support center at Camp Arifjan and a radar facility at Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait.
The IRGC also said it targeted a site in Bahrain where US combat aircraft were stationed, along with an intelligence data center.
Kuwait said Iranian strikes hit an oil facility, causing injuries and heavy material losses, and that firefighters and a worker were hurt battling resulting blazes. Bahrain activated air sirens warning residents to shelter after detecting possible incoming drones or missiles, while Jordan’s Petra news agency said its air defenses shot down Iranian missiles.Story continues below this ad
People move past a billboard with an image which depicts Irans late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei embracing late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran, (REUTERS FILE)
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, called Iran’s strikes on Kuwait’s civilian infrastructure a war crime and a serious violation of international law. Kuwait’s foreign minry said the repeated hits on essential facilities point to a deliberate pattern of targeting civilians.
Why is Iran retaliating now?
Iran’s attacks followed a seventh consecutive night of US strikes on Iranian territory, which President Trump ordered after declaring a temporary ceasefire agreement over and dismissing a statement from Iran’s supreme leader as invalid.
US Central Command said the strikes, which began at 7pm Friday, aimed to keep degrading Iran’s military capability, hitting surveillance sites, logics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and naval assets. Explosions were reported in Sirik, Ahvaz, and Yazd.
Iran’s health minry says US strikes have killed 50 people and wounded more than 500 since the renewed hostilities began, and Iran acknowledged for the first time Friday that US strikes had hit power infrastructure, prompting an appeal for reduced electricity use in southern provinces.Story continues below this ad
US forces ended the seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran. (Screengrab/X/@CENTCOM)
Meanwhile, the IRGC claimed two oil tankers exploded after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, blaming “deceptive American intelligence agencies” a claim the US military called false and said it had stopped four ships from transiting the strait.
Senior military adviser Mohsen Rezaee warned that Iran will launch full-scale offensive operations if US strikes continue for another two to three days, saying Tehran would abandon like-for-like retaliation and that no political border would remain safe, according to Iran’s IRIB news agency.
