Iran's IRGC fired roughly 20 ballistic missiles at a U.S. air base in Jordan overnight in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers. Jordanian defenses intercepted 18, and the two that got through hit unpopulated areas, as oil prices climbed back above $100 a barrel.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a barrage of roughly 20 ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Jordan overnight, but the attack was largely blunted before it could do real damage. Jordanian air defenses intercepted 18 of the incoming missiles, and the two that got through landed in areas devoid of population centers, according to Jordan's armed forces.
The strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base near Al-Azraq was Tehran's direct retaliation for the U.S. Navy's destruction of five Iranian crude oil tankers a day earlier, an exchange that has pushed oil prices back above $100 a barrel and sharpened fears of a wider Middle East war.
The IRGC boasted of "devastating" missile strikes against U.S. forces at the base, claiming a "significant number" of solid- and liquid-fueled ballistic missiles hit their targets. Iranian state media amplified the claims, suggesting damage to American aircraft and personnel.
Those assertions do not square with what Jordan and the United States have reported. The Jordanian Armed Forces said its air defense systems destroyed 18 of the 20 missiles launched toward the kingdom, and that the remaining two fell in unpopulated areas. The IRGC also claimed it attacked two U.S. vessels, eight oil tankers, and ten "noncompliant vessels" near the Strait of Hormuz -- a claim CENTCOM flatly denied.
"No U.S. Navy warship has been struck," U.S. Central Command said, insisting that "all IRGC attempted attacks failed." The pattern mirrors earlier rounds of the conflict, in which Tehran has repeatedly announced dramatic successes that U.S. and allied forces have not confirmed.
The missile barrage came less than 24 hours after CENTCOM destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers in response to Iran targeting U.S. Navy ships with ballistic missiles over the preceding two days. The U.S. warship in that exchange successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued patrolling regional waters, with no American personnel harmed.
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the tanker strikes as "a dangerous escalation of tensions in the region" and "a clear threat to regional and international peace and security." The IRGC vowed the "powerful battle will continue."
British maritime authorities separately flagged reports of several merchant vessels in the region that came under "disabling fire," though the nature and impact of those disturbances could not immediately be confirmed. The attacks on shipping mark a serious intensification of a conflict that has now run seven months, with the Strait of Hormuz -- the world's most important oil chokepoint -- at the center of the fighting.
Brent crude crossed the $100-a-barrel threshold for the first time in six weeks as the escalation deepened concerns about global supply. The pain is already showing up at American pumps and in the broader economy: average U.S. retail diesel prices hit an all-time high of $5.94 on Wednesday, according to AAA, and the nation's strategic petroleum reserves sit at their lowest levels since 1982.
Goldman Sachs commodities analysts have warned that if active hostilities continue, oil prices could climb above $120 a barrel. Every round of escalation between Washington and Tehran raises the stakes not just for the Gulf region, but for consumers and businesses around the world who depend on stable energy flows.
Tehran has threatened to strike tankers operating off Kuwait and Bahrain, which would widen the conflict beyond the waters near Iran's coast and draw more Gulf states directly into the fight. The IRGC's decision to fire on a base in Jordan -- a key U.S. ally -- signals Iran is willing to expand its targets beyond the maritime arena.
For now, the United States and its partners have contained the immediate threat, with allied air defenses proving effective against the Iranian barrage and American naval forces reporting no damage. But with oil above $100 and Tehran promising more attacks, the region remains on a knife's edge. The next Iranian move -- and Washington's response -- will determine whether this becomes a broader war or another round of tit-for-tat that eventually cools.
Iran's IRGC fired roughly 20 ballistic missiles at a U.S. air base in Jordan overnight in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian oil tankers. Jordanian defenses intercepted 18, and the two that got through hit unpopulated areas, as oil prices climbed back above $100 a barrel.
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