Iranian missiles attacked several American military aircrafts on Tuesday, at Muwaqqaf Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to a US official, who spoke to the Reuters news agency. The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on American military positions, which has been taking place in the region this week.
The official said that one A-10C Thunderbolt II, also known as Warthog, was severely damaged and left with a torn wing, while nearly eight F-15 fighters were lightly damaged and returned to service.
The attack came after several weeks of intensified air strikes on Syria, which have decimated America’s military aviation capabilities. According to a Congressional Research Service report last month, there have been 42 American planes destroyed or damaged as of the end of May.
The attack on the Jordan base followed a chain of retaliatory strikes between Washington and Tehran. US forces said they had destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, a move Washington described as a response to twin ballistic missile attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a US Navy warship over the preceding two days.
Iran’s subsequent strike on Muwaffaq Salti forced American forces to fire around 30 Patriot interceptors to bring down the incoming missiles, deepening concerns among officials over shrinking US air-defence stockpiles.
The human cost of the seven-month conflict continues to climb. Since fighting began in February, 18 US service members have been killed and more than 800 wounded, according to official figures.
Beyond combat losses, the US military has also seen material setbacks unrelated to direct strikes, including the destruction of more than two dozen drones and aircraft lost in accidents.
Separately, shipping data showed vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to single digits, reflecting the toll the conflict is taking on one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes, through which a significant share of global crude exports normally pass.
The developments come as the broader US-Israel-Iran-Lebanon conflict continues to reshape security dynamics across the Middle East, with no clear resolution yet in sight.
