Iran Says It Destroyed 3 F-35s After US Resumes Strikes, Deepening Clash

US resumes strikes on Iran after six days

Signs emerge of a wider conflict across the Middle East

Jordan says it intercepted five Iranian missiles

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a retaliatory attack on the US Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan after Washington resumed airstrikes on Iran six days later.

Iran’s state-run IRIB broadcaster and other local media cited an IRGC statement on July 30 saying the force fired multiple ballistic missiles at parking areas and maintenance hangars for US F-35 fighter jets at Al-Azraq earlier that morning. The IRGC said the attack completely destroyed three F-35s and severely damaged three others.

The strike came in retaliation for the US resumption of airstrikes on Iran on July 29, after a six-day pause. US Central Command said on X the previous day that the operation against Iran began at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Central Command said it struck dozens of IRGC targets in Iran, including military command-and-control centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime force assets.

Before the large-scale strikes, President Donald Trump used combative language in remarks to reporters at the White House. “We will hit them very hard,” he said. “Now it’s our turn to hit them, and Iran knows that.” In an interview with Fox News, he added, “We’re going to pound them.”

After the US attack, the IRGC said the attackers would be punished that day and vowed retaliation against US facilities.

The US military has not commented on the IRGC’s claim about the attack.

AFP reported that Jordan’s military said it intercepted five Iranian missiles fired toward its territory on July 30 and that there were no casualties.

Kim Hee-sun, Hankyung.com reporter, gimme_sun@hankyung.com