Iran has launched several ballistic missiles towards Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, also known as Al-Azraq, because it hosts US military assets and personnel. The Jordanian Armed Forces said 18 of 20 missiles launched overnight on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning were intercepted and destroyed, while two fell in open areas; no casualties were reported.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the strikes targeted sites used to maintain, prepare and deploy F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter jets, along with aircraft shelters. A Trump administration official said the barrage did not cause casualties and was ineffective against integrated air and missile defences.
What Iran says it targeted
The IRGC said its missiles struck maintenance, preparation and deployment areas for US fighter jets at the base, as well as their shelters. Those claims were reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency; the available information does not independently establish the extent of damage described by the IRGC.
The latest attack came during a wider escalation that began two weeks earlier with US attacks on rocket launchers on Iran’s Larak island in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States said Iran was preparing to use the launchers to scatter sea mines in the strait. Iran then responded with strikes on US assets in neighbouring Gulf countries before widening its targets to include Jordan. For additional context, see “What the latest US-Iran tanker attacks mean for the Strait of Hormuz”.
Key points
- Al-Azraq is near Azraq in Jordan’s Zarqa governorate, about 100km northeast of Amman.
- Jordan and the United States signed a 2021 defence cooperation agreement granting US forces and contractors access to 12 military installations.
- Jordan is known to host nearly 4,000 US soldiers, some of them at Al-Azraq.
- Iran has claimed strikes on Al-Azraq more than 10 times between March and September.
Why the base matters
Al-Azraq is in Jordan’s sparsely populated Eastern Desert and has two runways. Its official name honours Lieutenant Muwaffaq Salti, a Jordanian fighter pilot killed in the 1966 Battle of Samu.
The base is important to the United States because of its distance from Iran and its role in supporting military operations. A Washington Institute fellow described Jordan as providing strategic depth compared with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which are closer to Iran. A 2023 Congressional Research Service report said Jordanian air bases have been particularly important for US intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance missions in Syria and Iraq.
The United States has not publicly disclosed the capacities of its foreign military sites. However, a 2026 Congressional Research Service report said Jordan hosts nearly 4,000 US soldiers. Other US personnel and assets are also stationed at King Faisal Air Base in southern Jordan and Tower 22, a logistics outpost in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. A related part of this story is covered in “US military says tanker strikes followed Iranian missile attacks”.
What is known about earlier attacks
Iran first claimed an air strike on Al-Azraq in early March. On June 10, the IRGC said long-range missiles had destroyed targets including hangars and command centres at the base, while authorities in the affected countries said the projectiles had been intercepted without casualties.
On July 17, Iran claimed it had hit US aircraft at Al-Azraq with ballistic missiles and drones, including refuelling aircraft and fighter jets. US Central Command later confirmed that two US service members were killed in action, one was missing and four were injured in the Iranian attack. The development of this issue can be followed in “Why China and Qatar are expanding cooperation during the Iran war”.
Iran’s targeting of the base has increased its significance in the current conflict. The base reportedly became a key logistics hub for US C-17 transport aircraft and about 60 combat aircraft in the run-up to the war, while US troops were also relocated there from Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in the early days of the conflict.
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