Iran attacks U.S. bases, Tehran claims, as missile stock fears grow
Iran claimed drone strikes on U.S. facilities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait while U.S. officials warned weapons use is straining stockpiles.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
4 min read
Iran said Friday it launched fresh attacks on U.S. bases and military facilities across the Middle East, claiming drone strikes in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait as explosions were heard near a base hosting American forces in northern Iraq.
The claims came after U.S. Central Command said American forces completed a 13th straight night of strikes on Iran, targeting drone sites, command centers and other positions tied to threats against shipping near the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said in a statement that the operation was meant to reduce the danger Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels using the Strait of Hormuz. The command said the waterway remained open, though CBS News reported that few ships were risking the passage.
Which U.S. bases did Iran say it attacked?
Iran’s military said Arash kamikaze drones hit fuel tanks, equipment warehouses, silos and barracks used by U.S. forces at Isa Air Base in Bahrain, according to a statement carried by Iranian state TV. Bahrain’s interior ministry said air raid sirens were sounding Friday.
Iran’s army also claimed drone attacks on Al-Azraq base in Jordan, saying aircraft hangars, aviation maintenance hangars and a barracks were targeted. Jordan had not reported strikes in the hours after Iran’s claim, according to CBS News.
In Kuwait, Iran’s army said it sent drones toward U.S. equipment warehouses at Camp Udairi and sites used by American personnel at Camp Doha and Camp Arifjan. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps separately claimed it targeted Ali Al Salem Air Base, saying it destroyed an ammunition depot and caused U.S. casualties.
Those casualty claims were not independently confirmed in the CBS News report. Tehran has argued that any Middle East base or facility used by the U.S. military for strikes on Iran is a legitimate target for retaliation.
What happened near the U.S. base in Iraq?
A series of explosions was heard near a military base in northern Iraq that hosts U.S. forces, CBS News reported. It was the same base where Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton died over the weekend during what was described as a controlled detonation of an Iranian attack drone.
Video from the region showed drone interceptions, according to CBS News, as the conflict continued spreading across bases and shipping routes tied to the U.S. campaign.
What are U.S. officials worried about?
U.S. military and intelligence officials told CBS News that the pace of American use of advanced air-defense interceptors and precision-guided weapons in the Middle East has become a major strain inside the Trump administration.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the assessments, said the U.S. cannot sustain the early-campaign rate of precision-munitions use against Iran. They said shrinking supplies of defensive interceptors and long-range missiles are now part of a broader readiness debate, including concerns about deterring China in a potential Indo-Pacific conflict.
A missile interceptor is a defensive weapon designed to shoot down an incoming missile or drone before it reaches its target. Precision-guided weapons are munitions steered toward specific targets, making them valuable in campaigns where military planners are trying to limit damage beyond the intended site.
Iranian state media also reported U.S. missile strikes on Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Omidiyeh, Qeshm and Andimeshk. In Khuzestan province, the official IRNA news agency quoted deputy governor Valiollah Hayati as saying an overnight U.S. attack near Ahvaz killed at least four people and injured five others.
Separately, the governor’s office in Iran’s northern Gilan province said the U.S. struck the IRGC’s Seyyed al-Shuhada naval headquarters in Zibanekar on Friday morning. Deputy governor Ali Bagheri told state media the strike damaged equipment at the complex.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that damage to ships hit by Iran would be paid for with Iranian money controlled by the United States. CBS News noted that billions of dollars in Iranian assets are frozen under U.S. sanctions, though Trump did not identify which funds he meant.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.