Iran Launches Retaliatory Missile Strikes on U.S. Forces in Jordan After American Attack on Larak Island

Iran has launched a direct military offensive against U.S. forces stationed in Jordan in retaliation for an American strike on Iranian missile launchers, sharply escalating the six-month-long conflict between Tehran and Washington . The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed on Sunday that it had carried out a combined operation using ballistic missiles and drones against the King Hussein Air Base and Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan, inflicting “great damage” according to the IRGC . The attack came just hours after U.S. forces struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island, a strategic outpost in the Strait of Hormuz . While Iranian state media reported the strikes caused significant damage, Jordan’s military stated its air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace, and a U.S. source indicated that nearly all incoming missiles had been intercepted, with no significant impacts reported so far.

The exchange marks the first direct military confrontation between the United States and Iran since late July, ending a period of relative calm in the conflict . The U.S. said its strikes on Larak Island were a “limited and precise operation” aimed at neutralizing an imminent threat to international shipping, as Iranian forces were observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the critical waterway. Tehran, however, condemned the American attack, which it claimed killed and wounded several Revolutionary Guards members and civilians, and swiftly vowed a “response and punishment.” The renewed violence has heightened concerns about a broader regional escalation, with Iran also reportedly targeting facilities in the Gulf and movements of U.S. aircraft from bases in the region . President Donald Trump, who had previously declared that Iran “won’t have a nuclear weapon,” warned that the U.S. or Europe could be “next” if Tehran obtained such a weapon, while continuing to tout the success of the blockade on Iranian ports.