Iran retaliates with ballistic missiles at US bases in Jordan after Larak Island strike - The New Indian Express

**Iran Launches Ballistic Missiles at U.S. Installations in Jordan Following Larak Island Strike**

Tehran announced on Tuesday that it had fired a salvo of short‑range ballistic missiles toward two U.S. forward operating bases in Jordan – the Al‑Mafraq airfield and the Al‑Tanf garrison – as a direct response to a U.S. airstrike on Iran’s Larak Island earlier in the week. The missiles, identified by U.S. officials as Fateh‑110 variants, were launched from launch pads on Iran’s western coast and entered Jordanian airspace within minutes. Jordan’s air defence network, supported by U.S. Patriot batteries, intercepted the majority of the projectiles; three rockets landed in unpopulated desert areas, causing minor structural damage but no casualties among military personnel or civilians.

The Larak Island attack, carried out by a coalition of U.S. and allied aircraft, was described by the Pentagon as a pre‑emptive strike against a weapons‑storage facility that had allegedly supplied Iran‑backed militias operating in Iraq and Syria. Iranian officials condemned the operation as an “unlawful aggression” and vowed a proportional response. In a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir‑Abdollahian said the missile launch was “a measured retaliation to defend our sovereignty and to deter further violations of our territory.” Former President Donald Trump, who has been vocal on social media about the incident, posted a video from the Kharg Island region, framing the U.S. action as “overreach” and warning that “Iran will face consequences if it continues this path.”

The exchange has raised alarm across the region and among NATO allies. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the missiles were intercepted and warned that any escalation would be met with “decisive and calibrated” measures. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, called the missile landing “a serious breach of Jordanian sovereignty” and urged the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency session. Analysts note that the rapid tit‑for‑tat could destabilise already fragile cease‑fire arrangements in Syria and Iraq, while diplomatic channels in Tehran, Washington, and Amman remain open in an effort to prevent further military escalation.