Iranian strikes damage U.S. F‑15s and A‑10 at Jordan base, deepening regional war risks
Iranian attacks on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan have damaged several U.S. F‑15 fighters and an A‑10, according to sources cited by CBS News and regional outlets, underscoring how the conflict is now hitting front‑line American aircraft and bases.
Iranian strikes on a key airbase in Jordan have damaged multiple U.S. combat aircraft, pushing the regional confrontation into territory where American front‑line assets are now visibly at risk.
Sources with direct knowledge of the incident, cited by CBS News and by Spanish‑language reports, state that several U.S. F‑15 fighter jets and an A‑10 attack aircraft sustained damage at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base during Iranian attacks carried out overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, local time. Follow‑up reporting in Spanish notes that the pattern in which the aircraft were parked — very close to one another on the tarmac — helped the strikes affect several airframes, as blast effects and shrapnel reached neighbouring jets.
The available reporting focuses on the fact of damage rather than the exact extent, and there is no detailed public assessment yet of how long the aircraft will be out of service. Even so, confirmation that F‑15s and an A‑10 were hit at all marks a shift from earlier phases of the confrontation, where many Iranian or Iran‑aligned attacks targeted proxies, lower‑value infrastructure or logistics sites rather than major U.S. combat platforms on a partner’s territory.
For U.S. personnel operating out of Muwaffaq Salti, the incident underlines that they are working within reach of Iranian strike capabilities. The reports that planes were parked in tight clusters suggest that everyday operational pressures or assumptions about the threat level may have left some vulnerabilities, despite standard measures such as dispersal and hardened shelters that are intended to limit exactly this kind of damage.
Jordan, which hosts the base, sits in the middle of this dynamic. The kingdom has long tried to balance its close security relationship with Washington with a desire to avoid being drawn too visibly into confrontations with Iran. Strikes that damage U.S. jets on Jordanian soil complicate that balancing act and raise questions about how much additional protection and political cover Amman may now seek.
The attacks land against a wider backdrop of regional escalation and rising energy prices. Updates from market watchers say U.S. crude futures have risen to $99 per barrel and then to $100, and that Brent crude has pushed past $100 to around $105. Analysts link that move to expectations of a prolonged war involving Iran, increased risk around key maritime chokepoints and attacks that raise doubts about the security of regional infrastructure and bases.
From here, the trajectory will depend heavily on how Washington and Tehran respond in the open. Key indicators include any U.S. decisions to move aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti into more hardened shelters or to other locations, announcements about reinforcing air defences in Jordan, public acknowledgement of retaliatory actions, and the tone of official statements on both sides about whether this round of strikes is meant to be limited or a prelude to further escalation.
Sources
- OSINT