Iran fires missiles at US forces in Jordan after US strike on Larak Island

Jordan claims eight Iranian missiles shot down during IRGC attack on two US bases, following American strikes on missile launchers on Iran’s Larak Island.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones at two military bases hosting US forces in Jordan early Monday, prompting Jordanian and American air defenses to intercept the incoming attack in the first major exchange of fire between Washington and Tehran in more than a month.

Jordan’s armed forces said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed eight missiles that entered the kingdom’s airspace.

A US source separately said nearly all of the incoming missiles were intercepted and that there had been no significant impacts from the attack.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the strike, saying its Aerospace Force targeted the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in retaliation for a US attack on Iran’s Larak Island hours earlier.

The IRGC dubbed the operation “Punishment of the Aggressor” and said missiles and drones were directed at facilities supporting American aircraft.

The Iranian force claimed the attack struck “technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites,” and asserted that it caused heavy damage.

There was no independent confirmation of the Iranian damage claims, and the preliminary US assessment indicated the strikes had caused no significant impact.

Jordan’s military said the eight missiles it intercepted were destroyed before they could endanger the population.

The Jordanian Armed Forces said the projectiles were eliminated “before they could pose any threat to citizens or property,” adding that its forces remained prepared to take whatever measures were necessary to defend Jordanian territory and airspace.

Explosions were reported near the port city of Aqaba during the Iranian attack.

Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, citing a US source, reported during the barrage: “US forces in Jordan are under missile attack.”

The strikes came in response to a US attack Sunday on two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, a strategically located island near the Strait of Hormuz and the major Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

A US official said IRGC forces had been observed preparing the launchers for an operation intended to put new mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

The official said Iranian forces were “preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.”

US Central Command characterized the operation as a limited defensive action against an imminent threat to shipping. CENTCOM said American forces carried out “limited, precise action” against IRGC mine-laying forces.

The command rejected Tehran’s characterization of the Larak strike as unprovoked aggression, saying Iran had created the threat by preparing to place mines in one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

“Iran created the threat and the US military eliminated it,” CENTCOM said, adding that the operation was intended to protect civilian sailors, commercial vessels and international commerce.

Iran said the Larak attack killed and wounded several IRGC personnel and civilians, though it did not immediately provide a detailed casualty count. The Revolutionary Guards quickly vowed retaliation.

That response came hours later in Jordan.

“Aggression and crimes will not solve the enemy’s desperation” over the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC said after the missile attack, warning that future strikes would bring “even more devastating responses.”

The exchange marked the first known US strikes on Iranian territory since late July, interrupting several weeks in which the Trump administration had increasingly emphasized economic sanctions and pressure on countries and financial institutions continuing to do business with Tehran.

President Donald Trump said last week that mines had been removed or destroyed in the international waters of the strait and warned that Iranian vessels attempting to lay additional mines would be destroyed.

Iran has rejected Trump’s assertion that the waterway has been reopened, maintaining that vessels cannot safely transit without Tehran’s approval.

Commercial traffic through the strait remains sharply reduced. Visible commodity-vessel crossings fell to roughly five per day over the weekend, although the actual number may be higher because some ships have turned off tracking systems to reduce their vulnerability to attack.

Before the conflict, the waterway handled nearly one-fifth of worldwide crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

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