Symbolic imageIran hits US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain as Washington denies losses
Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked US military facilities in Jordan and Kuwait, while the Iranian army struck a base in Bahrain, in the early hours of Thursday, after US strikes on Iranian territory the night before. Jordan's army said it shot down five missiles without casualties, while Kuwait reported one worker killed. Tehran claims it destroyed three F-35 fighter jets and killed US personnel in Jordan; the US Central Command says no American aircraft were hit.
What happened
Iranian forces struck US bases in three countries in the early hours of Thursday, 30 July. Ballistic missiles targeted Al Azraq air base in Jordan; the Jordanian military said its air defences detected and destroyed five missiles fired from Iran, with no casualties and no material damage. In Kuwait, the IRGC said it destroyed two drone hangars and an aviation fuel tank at the Ali Al Salem base, while the Kuwaiti Defence Ministry said an Iranian strike hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north of the country and killed a worker. The Iranian army said its drones hit generators, navigation systems and administrative buildings at the Isa base in Bahrain. The IRGC said the attacks answered US strikes on Qeshm Island the previous evening, which it says killed three members of a civilian family; CENTCOM said it had struck dozens of IRGC command centres, missile positions and drone facilities in a two-hour operation. Tehran's claim of three destroyed F-35s and dead US officers and technicians is rejected by CENTCOM, which says every missile and drone was intercepted or failed to reach its target.
The view from outside
Emirati and Serbian outlets stress that the Iranian claims have not been independently confirmed and put the civilian and economic cost first: a dead worker in Kuwait, damaged vessels in the region, and airlines pulling out of Gulf routes. Pakistan's foreign ministry said US-Iran negotiations were continuing and called for a diplomatic solution, particularly on the Strait of Hormuz. Russian state media place the exchange in a sequence that began on 8 July, when Washington ended the ceasefire and resumed strikes.
What could happen next
The IRGC says its attacks on US infrastructure will continue until American forces leave the region, and it has warned that any country assisting US strikes will be targeted, which puts Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in the line of fire despite their limited role. Tehran also says the Strait of Hormuz stays closed while US officials interfere with shipping, after two escorted tankers turned back on Wednesday, one of them on fire according to the IRGC. Air France, KLM, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others have pushed suspensions of Gulf routes into August, September and late October, citing a rapidly evolving security situation. With Trump saying on 29 July that US attacks would go on, the next markers are further CENTCOM strike waves and whether the talks Pakistan describes produce anything on Hormuz.
Iran: The Revolutionary Guards present the strikes as punishment for US attacks on Iranian soil, claim destroyed F-35s and dead US personnel, and say operations will continue until American forces leave the region.
United States: CENTCOM says no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged and that all missiles and drones were intercepted or fell short, while framing its own strikes as degrading Iranian threats to shipping and neighbouring states.
Also involved