JULY 30, 2026
U.S. launches heavy wave of airstrikes against Iran after ballistic missile attack on Jordan base
The U.S. military launched a two-hour wave of airstrikes against dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran — including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, and coastal defense sites — in retaliation for an Iranian ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan on Tuesday. U.S. Central Command said all five Iranian missiles were intercepted by Patriot missile defense systems before reaching their targets. Jordan's military separately said it shot down five Iranian missiles targeting its territory early Thursday.
U.S. Central Command described the operation as running from 8 to 10 p.m. ET, with F-18s launching from a U.S. aircraft carrier. CENTCOM said "dozens of IRGC targets" were struck, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities. Iran said a residential building was also struck, killing two children — a claim the U.S. military did not immediately address in public statements.
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday, "We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them. They know it's coming. They're asking us not to do it." He separately told Fox News the U.S. would "beat the f***ing s*** out of them." The Iranian missiles had targeted the Muwafaq al-Salti air base in Jordan's eastern desert, a U.S. air hub that was also the site of an earlier attack that killed three U.S. service members in mid-July, according to NPR.
Also on Wednesday, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia struck seven Iran-backed paramilitary bases in Iraq. Iran-backed militias said at least 20 fighters were killed; Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirmed four of its members serving as military advisers in Iraq were killed. The strikes came during a major Shia religious commemoration ahead of Arbaeen, drawing condemnation at funeral ceremonies in Baghdad where some mourners chanted "death to America." Iran-backed groups gave the Iraqi government a one-week deadline to respond to the attacks, according to NPR.