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Missiles, strikes, and timing
The U.S. military struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets across Iran on Wednesday night after Iran’s IRGC fired multiple ballistic missiles toward American troops in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
“The two-hour operation ran from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET on July 29.”
CENTCOM said the two-hour operation ran from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET on July 29 and followed what it called an attempted surprise attack by Iran on July 28.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces intercepted every Iranian missile, and it described the strikes as aiming to “further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries.”
Iranian state media, citing the IRGC, said the U.S. strikes killed three civilians and wounded two children on Qeshm Island, while three IRGC members also died in Zanjan province, and the governor of Khuzestan province said the strikes damaged two student dormitory complexes in Ahvaz.
Jordan’s armed forces said air defenses intercepted five incoming Iranian missiles early Thursday, and Jordan reported no casualties.
Jordan claims denied
The IRGC claimed in a Thursday message on Telegram that it destroyed three F-35 aircraft at Jordan’s Al-Azraq Air Base and killed several U.S. soldiers, while also claiming three other aircraft were damaged.
CENTCOM rejected those assertions, saying in a statement that “No US aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks. All missiles and drones were intercepted or failed to reach targeted areas,” and it did not confirm whether any U.S. service members were slain.
The Washington Times reported that CENTCOM also rejected Iranian claims that the tanker M/T Nora broke through the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’sports, writing, “The commercial vessel has not broken through America’s steel wall blockade,” on X.
In parallel, the BBC said the IRGC carried out retaliatory strikes on the Al-Azraq base in Jordan and that the IRGC’s claim that it destroyed several F-35s was rejected by CENTCOM.
The BBC also reported that at least three citizens, including a child on Qeshm, and three IRGC personnel in Zanjan were killed, after the U.S. attacks on Thursday morning were carried out in response to Iran’s missile attacks yesterday against American forces in Jordan.
Escalation and regional stakes
U.S. officials and outlets described the campaign as retaliation for attacks on a U.S. base in Jordan, with the U.S. launching strikes on Iranian territory after the IRGC fired five missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan on Tuesday evening.
“American forces “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran,””
The Defense Post said the U.S. completed a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran on Thursday in retaliation for Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, and it said CENTCOM struck “dozens” of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites and maritime capabilities.
Kurdistan24 reported that U.S. President Donald Trump held a high-level military meeting aboard Air Force One on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, where Admiral Brad Cooper led a plan prepared by CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper calling for an intensive air campaign lasting two weeks aimed at permanently crippling Iran’s missile capabilities.
The same report said the plan put Trump before two choices—either approve a “strong strikes” campaign lasting 10 to 14 days or limit strikes to limited actions to open diplomacy—and it noted warnings about being drawn into an “unwinnable war.”
In the background of the escalating exchanges, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia also launched strikes on Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, while the Iraqi president condemned the air raids as “a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, targeting its official institutions,” and Farhan Haq said the U.N. secretary-general’s deputy spokesperson warned against “any expansion of the conflict.”
