Welcome to our live coverage of the escalating crisis in the Middle East. Iran has announced that it launched a missile attack at an airbase in Jordan that hosts US forces, following earlier strikes targeting Kuwait and Bahrain. The Revolutionary Guards stated that missiles were directed at the Muwaffaq Salti airbase, known to house US F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft.
Neither Jordan nor the United States has confirmed any attack. However, if verified, this would represent the first instance of Iran targeting Jordan since the ceasefire in April.
The US strikes on Iran came after an American Apache helicopter was downed over the Strait of Hormuz. Two crew members were rescued and are in stable condition. President Donald Trump posted on social media that the US “must” respond to the helicopter crash.
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The United States launched multiple waves of strikes against Iran in retaliation for the military helicopter crash off the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump claimed Iran had downed. The Associated Press reported that the Apache helicopter collided with an Iranian drone, though it remains unclear if the collision was intentional.
US strikes were reported across Iran’s southern coast along the Strait of Hormuz. After over three hours of military action, US Central Command (Centcom) announced that the strikes were “completed,” emphasizing that the US remains prepared to defend against “unjustified Iranian aggression.”
Shortly thereafter, Iran launched retaliatory attacks against the US, according to Iranian state media. These attacks reportedly targeted American bases in the region and the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones. Kuwait and Bahrain issued air raid alerts and confirmed that their air defenses were active in repelling attacks. Iran also claimed it had targeted a US base in Jordan with long-range missiles.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated that no attack would go “unanswered,” shortly after the US strikes on Iran. Sharing an image of the Strait of Hormuz labeled “Forever Persian Gulf,” Araghchi remarked that “despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination.”
Five hours before the airstrikes, Trump posted on social media that the US “must” respond to the helicopter crash, from which two crew members were rescued in stable condition. However, earlier in a phone interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump appeared to downplay the crash, saying it “wasn’t a big deal” and that “the pilot is fine.”
Iranian state media reported that no air military operations have taken place in the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that 11 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Tyre on Tuesday. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported the first strike occurred shortly before Israel’s military issued an evacuation warning for the entire city and surrounding areas ahead of further strikes.
