Iranian attack on Jordan’s al-Azraq airbase destroyed three US F-35s: IRGC

No evidence attacks launched from its territory: Iraq military spokesperson

---

A U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet taxis during the Aero India 2023 air show at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Samuel Rajkumar/File Photo

---

In a statement directed to Jordan, the IRGC said in response to a US attack on Qeshm island that killed two parents and their child, aerospace fighters targeted a ramp and maintenance shed at the al-Azraq airbase, which hosts US F-35 fighter jets, with several ballistic missiles, state news agency Fars reported, according to Al Jazeera.

The IRGC stated it had destroyed three F-35 aircraft and caused “heavy damage” to three others.

“A number of enemy officers and technical and maintenance personnel were also killed in this attack. Our region is no place for the infanticidal army that cruelly slaughters innocent families in the middle of the night while they sleep,” the IRGC said.

They added that their struggle, along with Jordan’s, would continue until “the last American occupier is expelled from the Islamic lands”.

No evidence attacks launched from its territory: Iraq military spokesperson

Iraq’s military spokesperson said there was no evidence that recent attacks in the region were launched from Iraqi territory, according to Al Jazeera.

Brigadier General Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency on Thursday that “there is no evidence that attacks were launched from Iraqi territory.

“The government will not allow any individual actions from the inside, and at the same time will not accept any violation coming from outside the borders,” al-Numan said.

Al-Numan explained that “the visit of the prime minister and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Ali Falih al-Zaidi, to the headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and his receiving a detailed briefing on the attacks targeting PMF members in several governorates confirms that the PMF is an integral part of the national defence system.”

He said the security establishment was currently preparing a comprehensive security plan to prevent future attacks and preserve Iraq’s full sovereignty. Al-Numan stressed that official security forces were solely responsible for the security file and would not allow any armed presence outside the state’s framework.

Talks with Oman officials over Strait of Hormuz are ongoing: Iran FM spokesperson

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said talks with Oman in Tehran were continuing through several rounds, while blaming the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption to international shipping on US and Israeli military actions, according to Al Jazeera.

Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the discussions with Omani officials, which began last week in Tehran, were ongoing and that further meetings had been held on Thursday.

“What is clear is that currently, the Strait of Hormuz is closed due to American actions and the insecurity that America has imposed on this waterway,” Baghaei told the ILNA news agency. “International shipping is being harmed and damaged solely because of American actions.”

He said the situation was the result of “military aggression” by the US and Israel that began on March 28 and continues in various forms. Baghaei cited attacks on Iranian vessels, what he called an illegal blockade of ports and transit routes, and continuing strikes against Iran.

Iran’s IRGC says three members killed in US missile attack

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three of its personnel were killed in a US missile attack, according to a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, as per Al Jazeera.

The IRGC’s Zanjan province branch, Ansar al-Mahdi, identified the slain fighters as Mahmoud Mollajabari, Mohammadreza Cheraghi and Jamal Amiri. It said they died on July 30 while “defending Iran’s borders and people” in what it described as a “brutal attack by the criminal terrorist regime of the United States”.

IRGC vows to carry out attacks on ‘aggressor’ after US struck Iran overnight

Iran’s Fars news agency quoted the IRGC’s public relations as saying: “With the help of God Almighty, the aggressor will be punished today.”

According to Al Jazeera, the IRGC’s comments came on Thursday after the US announced that it had launched “powerful” attacks on Iran overnight, with explosions heard in Qeshm, Kish, Bandar Abbas, Abadan and Bushehr.

Earlier, Iran said that three cities were targeted overnight in the province of Bushehr, which hosts Iran's sole nuclear power plant.

The US attack on Qeshm killed 3, according to Fars. Citing the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Fars said the victims were a couple and their two-year-old child.

Iran condemns US-Saudi strikes on Iraq

Iran condemned the US and Saudi strikes on Iraq, including on sites it said belonged to official Iraqi institutions and on rest stops serving pilgrims marking the Arbaeen commemoration, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Thursday that the strikes violated Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and breached the United Nations Charter, describing them as part of an effort by Washington and Israel to widen conflict across the region.

Arbaeen is one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings, drawing millions of Shia Muslims who travel, many on foot, to the Iraqi city of Karbala to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

“These strikes constitute a flagrant violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said in a statement, calling them “criminal, inhumane and provocative actions.”

The ministry offered condolences over the deaths of a number of Iraqis it said were killed in the strikes and affirmed Iran’s “full support and solidarity” with the Iraqi government and people.

Tasnim news agency X accounts suspended

Multiple accounts on the US social media platform X which belonged to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency were suspended for “violating X rules”.

Tasnim’s Farsi, Arabic, English and breaking news accounts have been suspended by the platform.

Netanyahu suggests predicting Iran’s actions in Strait of Hormuz was not possible

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on Thursday that predicting Iran’s actions regarding global commerce in the Strait of Hormuz was not possible, according to Al Jazeera.

“I thought they could do it, but I thought they’d also have to consider what would be the consequences if they do it, and nobody could predict that with accuracy,” Netanyahu said. “Everybody in the world today understands what a grave danger Iran poses to the peace of the world.”

Netanyahu argued that the waterway will lose its strategic power if energy flows are rerouted.

“I don’t think the straits are going to be that powerful a leverage because people will move the energy pipelines out of the straits to the Red Sea, from there to Israel in the Mediterranean. We can unblock this chokehold, and we will,” he said.

Jordan says it downs 5 Iranian missiles on 4th consecutive day of attacks

The Jordanian army said on Thursday that it intercepted and downed five missiles launched from Iran toward the kingdom, marking the fourth consecutive day of such incidents.

No casualties were reported, it added.

On Wednesday, Jordan said it had downed five missiles after intercepting one drone on Tuesday and two drones on Monday.

3 family members killed, 2 children injured in US strike on southern Iran: IRNA

Three members of the same family were killed and two children were injured in a US strike on a residential building in Qeshm, southern Iran, early Thursday, according to the country's official IRNA news agency.

Citing Hormozgan Deputy Governor Ahmad Nafisi, IRNA said search and rubble-removal operations at the home in the Chah Tangu neighbourhood had been completed.

Nafisi said the victims were a father, a mother and one of their children, while the family's two other children were taken to a medical facility for treatment.

UN chief expresses concern over renewed hostilities, calls for dialogue

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the US and Iran to cease fighting and return to diplomacy, according to a spokesman, as per Al Jazeera.

“The Secretary-General has been worried for some time that if the parties do not return to negotiations, you could have a widening of the conflict, and that seems to be what has been happening in recent hours,” Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

“These are not positive developments, and he wants to make sure that the parties can cease fighting and again return to the diplomatic efforts, including the mediation efforts being pressed forward by Pakistan, Qatar and others.”

Two tankers turned back after fire breaks out in Strait of Hormuz: IRGC

The IRGC said two oil tankers attempting to use the “unsafe route” south of the Strait of Hormuz turned back overnight, after a “severe fire” broke out on one of them, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement on its official Telegram channel, the IRGC said the vessels had been directed onto the route by US aircraft. It did not identify the tankers by name, flag or operator, nor provide details on casualties or damage.

The IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz is Iranian territory and that its naval forces maintain full control over the waterway, adding that “outsiders” from thousands of miles away would not be allowed to interfere. It also said the “aggressor” would be punished later on Thursday.

The statement added that the strait would remain closed as long as US officials continued what it called threats, provocative rhetoric, and interference in regional maritime activities, warning that such actions would only make the situation more difficult.

UAE condemns drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities from Iraqi territory

The United Arab Emirates “strongly condemned” drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory that targeted oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement published today, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attacks constituted a “blatant violation” of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to its security and stability, without specifying the timing of the incidents or whether they caused casualties or damage.

Saudi Arabia last reported drone strikes on Tuesday, and launched joint strikes with the US on what it called Iran-aligned groups in Iraq. The strikes killed at least 20 members of Iraq’s paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces, according to the group.

Iran says US air strikes hit three cities in Bushehr overnight

Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster reported that the US military targeted three cities in the province of Bushehr overnight, according to Al Jazeera.

The deputy political, security and social affairs officer of the Bushehr governor told the broadcaster that the air strikes hit areas around the cities of Bushehr, Jam and Khormoj.

No casualties were reported following the attacks, he said, according to IRIB.

Bushehr province hosts the country’s only nuclear power plant.

US strikes Iran again as Iran strikes US oil storage in Egypt port

The US carried out fresh strikes in Iran on Wednesday, the US military said, further intensifying a five-month-old war that was already expanding beyond its main fronts to embroil additional countries in ‌the region.

"US forces began launching strikes against Iran at 8:00pm ET today (5:00am PKT)," US Central Command said in a statement.

"The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday's attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East."

Earlier on Wednesday, a drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said in an initial assessment, while US and Saudi forces launched strikes against Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq and Iran fired missiles at US troops in Jordan.

A statement from Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed ​a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack. It was not immediately clear who was responsible.

The latest strikes in Iraq and Egypt threatened to draw more Middle Eastern countries into ​the conflict, after the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen last week declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.

The US strikes in Iran on Wednesday followed President Donald Trump's vow earlier ⁠in the day to retaliate against Iran for firing on US troops.

"So it's our turn," Trump told reporters at the White House, promising to "hit them very hard" even as he again said Washington would continue to aim for a ​peace deal with Tehran.

Iran confirmed overnight that it had fired on US bases in Jordan and at ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and also spurned an Omani proposal to jointly manage the strait, a critical global shipping route for oil ​and gas.

The war began in February, when the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran that Trump said would last only a few weeks. A temporary ceasefire agreement in June collapsed amid renewed fighting over the strait, which Iran says it now controls.

Read: Trump expresses concern about Iran war's economic fallout in meeting with Netanyahu: report

Oil prices shot up on Wednesday in one of the sharpest spikes of the five-month war. Brent crude futures rose more than 8% to push the benchmark well above $90 a barrel, reversing much of a plunge earlier this week when Trump had unexpectedly halted US strikes.

'Death to America' shouted in Iraq

The joint US-Saudi attacks marked the first time Riyadh has publicly joined strikes alongside Washington.

Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, powerful Iran-backed paramilitary groups incorporated into the Iraqi security forces, said at least 20 members were killed and ​32 wounded in US-Saudi strikes targeting several bases across Iraq.

Iraqi men shouted "Death to America!" as they carried the bodies of slain fighters in body bags.

Washington and Riyadh said they struck Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil targets ‌launched from Iraq.

After ⁠the joint attacks, Saudi Arabia's defence minister met with Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Wednesday to urge the Trump administration not to escalate the conflict further by attacking Yemen's Houthis and carrying out additional strikes against the Iran-aligned militias in Iraq, two sources told Reuters.

One of the sources added that such escalation would open the door to "major unknown risks." The White House and Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US officials have privately cautioned that resuming major combat operations against Iran would carry risk given the negative impact on stocks of munitions.

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, estimated this week that the US military has fewer than 1,000 ​Patriot interceptor missiles and fewer than 250 THAAD interceptors -- two ​key air defence systems.

Though Iran denies its forces have ⁠directed strikes from Iraqi territory, Iranian newspaper Hamshahri reported that four Iranian Revolutionary Guards advisers had been killed in the strikes on Iraq.

Iraq's dangerous rift

The strikes on Iraq expose a dangerous rift in that volatile country. The Shi'ite-led government is one of the few in the world to balance close military and diplomatic ties with both Tehran and Washington, ​but those divided loyalties are a constant source of tension and frequent domestic unrest.

The office of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who took power just two months ago, urged ​the parties involved to avoid escalation ⁠and said he wanted to keep the country out of regional conflicts.

The Iraqi presidency denounced the strikes on the paramilitaries as "an unacceptable attack and a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty", while also calling for a halt to attacks by armed groups against Iraq's neighbours.

The deep ties between Iran and Iraq, the two biggest Shi'ite-majority countries, are on display this week as hundreds of thousands of Iranian religious pilgrims head to shrines in Iraq for an annual observance of mourning for martyrs.

Hours before launching the ⁠attacks on Iraq, ​the US military said its air defences had averted a surprise Iranian attack on US troops in the region.

Jordan's military said it had shot ​down five Iranian missiles. US bases in Jordan have lately become primary Iranian targets, where three US service members were killed this month in the worst US losses since March.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had fired several ballistic missiles at US military installations in Jordan, and had struck three ​tankers that were attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz along an unauthorised route.