Iran strikes US base in Jordan in retaliation for attacks on tankers
Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced early Wednesday that its aerospace forces have attacked a US air base in Jordan in retaliation for US “aggressive” attacks against Iranian oil tankers.
The IRGC said in a statement that it struck a hangar for the maintenance, repair, preparation and deployment of the US Army’s F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter jets and a shelter for the US fighter aircraft at the Al-Azraq Air Base, “inflicting heavy damage on the enemy.”
Jordan’s military said on Wednesday that its air defence systems have destroyed 18 of 20 Iranian ballistic missiles, reports Xinhua news agency.
Two missiles fell in unpopulated areas, causing no casualties, it said.
Earlier, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the United States military has destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after the IRGC twice targeted an American warship with ballistic missiles.
The strikes were carried out Tuesday (Local time) in the Gulf of Oman and near Iran’s Kharg Island, an important hub for the country’s oil exports.
CENTCOM said the American warship successfully evaded both attempted attacks, which occurred over the previous two days. No US personnel were injured.
The military command identified the tankers destroyed in the Gulf of Oman as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco. A fifth tanker, M/T Derya, was attacked near Kharg Island.
US forces instructed the crews to abandon the ships before striking them and rendering the vessels inoperable, according to CENTCOM. The military did not report any casualties among the tanker crews.
CENTCOM described the vessels as crude oil carriers operated by the IRGC and said they formed part of a multibillion-dollar network used to finance the Iranian military organisation and its regional proxies.
The US military did not disclose which American warship Iran allegedly targeted, where the attempted attacks occurred or how many ballistic missiles were fired.
The latest operation marked the second US attack on Iranian oil tankers in four days.