Iran says it killed ‘large number’ of US forces in Jordan; America says no casualties
The claim came as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched a combined missile and drone assault on US bases in Iraq’s Erbil, escalating a widening confrontation between Tehran and Washington across the region.
Also read: Trump says US gave Iran many chances, dismisses value of any deal: Report
Two US officials told Reuters there were no casualties from the Iranian attack on facilities in Jordan based on initial information, while cautioning that the situation could change as Iranian attacks continued.
Jordan’s armed forces, meanwhile, said its air-defence systems dealt with 13 ballistic missiles that entered the kingdom’s airspace. Ten were intercepted and destroyed, while three fell in remote areas away from population centres, according to state media.
Iran expands attacks across region
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also said they had carried out missile and drone attacks against US bases in Erbil, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, according to Iranian state media.
The attacks followed US military action against Iran on Tuesday. Axios had reported that US forces also attacked two Iranian government tankers.The latest exchanges mark another sharp escalation in hostilities, with Iranian attacks extending beyond Jordan to US-linked military positions in Iraq and other Gulf states.
Bahrain, separately, said on Wednesday that its air-defence systems had intercepted and destroyed Iranian drones over the kingdom.
Trump dismisses Iran deal, warns of bigger attack
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed the prospect of any meaningful agreement with Iran.
“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement. I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
On Tuesday, the US President had said that Tehran had already been given “a lot of chances”, as the US launched fresh strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think an agreement with them isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. We gave them a lot of chances,” Trump had told Fox News in an interview.
Trump also warned Iran of a more severe military response if Tehran retaliated against the latest US strikes, which he described as “large and powerful”. He said the US action was in response to what he described as Iran’s attempt to place sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz and its launch of eight missiles at a US military base in Jordan.
“The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!), and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan. If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings, and when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump said in a separate post on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Also read: Trump says US launches ‘large and powerful’ strikes on Iranian targets near Strait of Hormuz
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) separately confirmed that American forces had begun strikes on targets belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region,” CENTCOM said in a post.
CENTCOM said the strikes began at 12 p.m. ET (9:30 p.m. IST) and targeted IRGC positions in Iran.
