ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Jordanian air defenses intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Thursday, the official spokesperson of the Jordanian Armed Forces reported, hours after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had completed “a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” in retaliation to an attack on an American base in Jordan.
The official spokesperson for the Jordanian Armed Forces stated that “the air defenses dealt, early Thursday morning, with five missiles launched from Iran that targeted the Kingdom's territories, where they were monitored, intercepted, and shot down in accordance with the defensive plans,” according to a statement relayed by the National Center for Security and Crises Management.
The statement comes as Iran continues to target US bases in the region after vowing military response to countries hosting US bases, warning that territories used to launch operations against Tehran would face retaliation.
Iran’s attack follows hours after CENTCOM announced early Thursday that it completed a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran following Iran’s Tuesday missile attacks on US forces.
CENTCOM framed its retaliation as a response to IRGC attacks on Tuesday in which Iranian forces “launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” noting that “All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.”
Tehran has repeatedly targeted US bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Kurdistan Region amid repeated warnings that “countries involved in aiding the aggressor will receive a harsh response,” according to IRGC-affiliated media on Thursday.
On Wednesday the US and Saudi Arabia fighter jets carried out a series of strikes across Iraq in retaliation for more than 30 one-way drones fired at the kingdom killing around two dozen Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) as well as at least five members of the IRGC.
The attacks come as IRGC insists on maintaining the Strait of Hormuz as a part of its own territory and exercising total dominance over its passage, stating that “IRGC Navy sailors have full control over it, and a stranger who has come from thousands of kilometers away will not be allowed to interfere.”
