The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran reported early Wednesday morning a missile attack against a United States hangar located at the Al Azraq military base in Jordan, as well as against two destroyers of the U.S. Navy, claiming to have caused "considerable damage." Tehran presents these actions as a direct response to Washington's "aggressive actions" against "Iranian tankers and ships."
"The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has subjected the U.S. base Al Azraq in Jordan to fierce missile attacks during the punishment operation against the aggressor, called 'Yahida Karrar,'" the military body announced in a statement released after the offensive.
According to the military statement, Iranian forces would have executed a "decisive attack with solid and liquid fuel ballistic missiles" against a "maintenance, preparation, and deployment hangar for F-35, F-16, and F-15 fighter jets, as well as the shelter for the aircraft, causing severe damage to the enemy."
Shortly after, the Revolutionary Guard communicated a second launch "with powerful ballistic missiles against the combat destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53," identified as the U.S. Navy ships USS Delbert D. Black and USS John Paul Jones.
The military body framed both attacks as "a response to aggressive actions and malicious harassment against Iranian tankers and ships," in line with the warning issued hours earlier by the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Ali Abdolahi, who had warned that "any attack against Iranian tankers will cause the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to target U.S. bases in the region."
The Iranian reprisals occurred shortly after the U.S. Army announced the destruction of five Iranian tankers in response to attacks against one of its ships, which, according to Washington's version, had managed to evade the impact.
In this context, the tankers that transport crude in the region have become increasingly visible targets for both sides. In addition to the American bombings, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard had urged this very Monday the crews of the tankers anchored or docked in ports of Kuwait and Bahrain to leave "immediately" the ships because "they will be the target of attacks."