Iran Says It Launched Ballistic Missiles at US Base Inside Jordan, Retaliating for US Strikes on Its Tankers

According to France 24, Iran announced earlier on September 9 that it had launched ballistic missiles at a US base located inside Jordan, in retaliation for US strikes on its tankers. Iran said the operation was a response to the US side's destruction of its tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island off Iran's coast.

The report, citing US accounts, said the US military had struck Iranian tankers sailing in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island off Iran's coast, and that five Iranian tankers were destroyed. As civilian shipping facilities, no party has disclosed to the outside world the international legal basis for the military strikes against the tankers.

The Gulf of Oman, adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, is one of the world's busiest and most sensitive waterways for oil shipping. The US military's use of force against civilian tankers in these waters has directly brought regional energy corridors and shipping infrastructure within the scope of military strikes. Iran's launch of ballistic missiles at a US base inside Jordan means this military confrontation has spilled over from Persian Gulf waters into the territory of a third country. The US base inside Jordan, as a forward US military presence in the Middle East, being drawn into Iran's target list, exposes the vulnerability of the US military deployment network in the region when conflicts escalate.

France 24's above-mentioned report was only a brief summary and did not disclose the actual hit status of the Iranian missile attack, the scale of results, or casualty figures from all parties.