Iran launched a barrage of strikes on a key American air base in Jordan, damaging nine U.S. aircraft and costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, just hours after President Trump publicly warned Tehran against provocative activity at a suspected nuclear site.
The attack hit Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on Wednesday night, ripping a wing off an A-10 Thunderbolt II, the iconic ground-attack jet known as the Warthog, and inflicting lighter damage on eight F-15 fighter jets. American forces fired more than 30 Patriot interceptor missiles in defense. No U.S. service members were killed or injured, CBS News reported, citing the aircraft damage figures and Patriot missile count.
The strike came just hours after Trump addressed the midterm Republican convention in Dallas, Texas, where he singled out renewed Iranian activity at a suspected nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, one of the last major sites believed to be used by the regime for uranium enrichment and storage.
Trump warned Iran hours before the missiles flew
Trump did not hold back in Dallas. Speaking to convention attendees on Wednesday, the president issued a pointed warning:
"We notice there's a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard."
Tehran's answer arrived before dawn. The barrage on Muwaffaq Salti, a critical hub for American air operations in the region, left the A-10, valued at roughly $20 million, out of commission after losing its wing. The eight damaged F-15s, each worth upward of $90 million, sustained lighter hits and returned to operational status.
By Thursday morning, oil markets had already absorbed the shock. Brent crude climbed to $101 per barrel, its highest level since May, as traders priced in the risk of further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
The Iranian regime has demanded joint control of the strait and the ability to charge tankers for passage, claiming the fees would help cover damage caused by American strikes. Washington has flatly rejected the demand, insisting instead that Tehran dismantle its nuclear program and surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
A ceasefire that collapsed in weeks
The latest exchange follows a pattern that has defined the conflict for months. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire in June, but it fell apart weeks later after Washington accused Tehran of attacking commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. American forces then resumed strikes on Iranian military assets, including radar installations along the waterway.
Since then, the tit-for-tat has only intensified. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Jordan within a 48-hour window, targeting Ali Al Salem Air Base, Camp Udairi, Camp Doha, and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait alongside the Jordan strikes, Just The News reported.
The personal stakes for Trump have been severe. The Secret Service smuggled the president out of Turkey in a catering truck during one episode when Iranian missile threats escalated against him directly.
Muwaffaq Salti has been hit before. Three U.S. Army soldiers were killed in a prior Iranian ballistic missile attack on the base on July 17, prompting Trump to vow that Iran would "pay many times over." Two of the fallen, 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, were later identified by the Army, Fox News reported. Trump authorized nine consecutive nights of retaliatory strikes on Iranian coastal military sites and IRGC forces after their deaths.
In total, 17 American service members have been killed and more than 420 wounded since hostilities resumed.
Satellite imagery points to renewed nuclear work at Pickaxe Mountain
Trump's Dallas warning was not idle speculation. A spokesperson for the Center for Strategic and International Studies told CNBC that satellite imagery of a building near Pickaxe Mountain showed the site had "shifted from active excavation toward probable internal construction and continued exterior reinforcement." The assessment suggests Iran may be hardening the facility even as negotiations remain stalled.
Trump has previously threatened to strike Pickaxe Mountain's underground bunker if Iran attempted to rebuild its nuclear program. His administration's position has not changed: Tehran must end enrichment and hand over its uranium stockpile. Iran has shown no willingness to comply.
The broader security environment around the president has grown increasingly volatile. NORAD scrambled F-16s to intercept an aircraft near Trump's Bedminster golf club in a separate incident that underscored the elevated threat level.
After the July attacks, the U.S. military completed a heavy wave of retaliatory strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of IRGC targets including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, and coastal defense sites over a two-hour window, the New York Post reported. Six Iranian advisers and at least 20 militia fighters were killed in joint U.S.-Saudi strikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq during that campaign.
Iran's response to each round of American strikes has been the same: escalate. The IRGC warned through state media that "every shot will be met with more devastating responses." In late August, Tehran launched ballistic missiles and drones at two additional U.S.-operated air bases in Jordan, King Hussein Air Base and Al-Azraq Air Base, in retaliation for a U.S. strike on Iranian forces stationed on Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz, Breitbart reported. That American strike on Larak was the first acknowledged direct hit on Iranian soil since July 29, breaking a monthlong pause.
Vance and Rubio warned Trump this could last until 2029
Not everyone in Trump's inner circle shares his confidence that maximum pressure will produce a quick resolution. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the president that the conflict with Iran could drag on for the rest of his term, the Wall Street Journal reported. They told Trump that Tehran could keep resisting American pressure and absorbing military strikes right up until Inauguration Day in January 2029.
That warning carries weight given the toll so far. American forces have expended more than 30 Patriot missiles in a single engagement, weapons that cost roughly $4 million apiece, while concerns about dwindling Patriot stockpiles and precision munitions have circulated among defense officials for months.
The threats to the president himself have been persistent enough to force extraordinary security measures. In one instance, the Secret Service pushed Trump off a new Qatari jet in Turkey as Iranian strikes escalated, redirecting his travel on short notice.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain stalled. Trump has refused to accept any deal that falls short of his core nuclear demands. Iran has refused to meet them. The ceasefire that was supposed to create space for diplomacy lasted weeks. The strikes that followed have lasted months.
An anonymous Arab regional official offered a blunt assessment of where things stand. "We're in a very bad place right now," the official said.
When a regime answers a presidential warning with a missile barrage on American aircraft within hours, the question is no longer whether Tehran is willing to negotiate, it is whether anyone in Tehran is listening at all.
