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Several U.S. military aircraft were damaged in Iranian strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, according to a report citing people familiar with the matter.
About eight F-15 fighter jets sustained light damage but were later returned to service, while an A-10 Thunderbolt, known as the Warthog, was also hit and lost a wing, U.S. officials told CBS News. No U.S. fatalities were reported in connection with the same attacks.
U.S. forces also fired more than 30 Patriot missiles to counter the Iranian attack, as officials remain concerned about dwindling supplies of Patriot interceptors and other precision-guided munitions.
The strikes followed a U.S. attack on five Iranian tankers Tuesday, which Washington carried out in retaliation for Iran targeting a U.S. Navy vessel. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later claimed it had attacked eight tankers and two warships, along with the U.S. base in Jordan.
The IRGC claimed it had fired ballistic missiles at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, also known as Al-Azraq Air Base, targeting facilities and shelters for F-35, F-16 and F-15 aircraft. It said the strikes caused heavy damage to maintenance and preparation hangars.
Jordan disputed Iran’s account of the strike, saying 20 ballistic missiles had targeted its territory and that air defenses intercepted and destroyed 18 of them. The other two landed in open areas away from populated locations, with no casualties reported.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency later released footage it said was related to the attack, showing Iranian missiles striking U.S. bases, and accused Jordan’s military of concealing damage and casualties.
The latest strike is part of a wider run of Iranian attacks on U.S. positions in Jordan since the conflict began in late February. Tehran has claimed hits on American military sites including Muwaffaq Salti Air Base near Al-Azraq, Camp Titin and Prince Hassan Air Base.
One of the more notable claims came on July 30, when the IRGC said a ballistic-missile strike on Muwaffaq Salti had destroyed three U.S. F-35 fighter jets and heavily damaged three others. It also claimed several U.S. officers and technical and maintenance personnel were killed.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the claim, saying no U.S. aircraft had been damaged or destroyed and that incoming missiles and drones were either intercepted or missed their targets.
The deadliest confirmed attack on U.S. forces at Muwaffaq Salti came on July 17. An Iranian ballistic-missile strike killed three U.S. Army soldiers and wounded four others, who were evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.
In early September, the IRGC claimed another strike on Prince Hassan Air Base, saying it had hit hangars housing U.S. RQ-4 and MQ-9 drones and that aircraft and personnel were destroyed or killed.
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