Iran Fires Missiles at US Base in Jordan Amid Trump-Netanyahu Talks

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The Pakistan Times — Islamabad, July 29, 2026

 Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles at US Base in Jordan as Trump Meets Netanyahu at the White House

Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan on Tuesday, in what US Central Command described as an attempted "surprise attack," just hours after President Donald Trump held closed-door talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. All missiles were intercepted, according to US officials, in the first such attack since Trump announced a pause in American strikes on Iran roughly a day earlier.

What CENTCOM Said

According to a statement posted on X by US Central Command, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces "launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East" at 5:45pm ET on Tuesday. CENTCOM said all the missiles were successfully intercepted and that "US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness," warning that the IRGC "and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response." CENTCOM did not publicly identify the specific facilities targeted, though a senior US official told Axios the missiles were aimed at an American base in Jordan, and a US official separately told CNN that initial estimates put the number of missiles fired at no more than four.

Iran's Account

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB carried a statement from the IRGC confirming that its air force had targeted a US airbase and Central Command centre in Jordan "with several ballistic missiles." The statement warned that "as long as threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue and illegal and vicious actions by American forces against our interests continue, the resistance will continue." According to the Jordan News Agency, five missile interceptions were reported over Jordanian airspace, with open-source intelligence trackers sharing footage appearing to show US Patriot air-defence systems engaging incoming threats near Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.

Coinciding With the Trump-Netanyahu Meeting

The missile attack came as Trump was meeting Netanyahu in the Oval Office, in talks the White House described as "positive and productive," lasting around 90 minutes. According to Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, the timing appeared to be a deliberate message from Tehran, saying, "This is Iran sending a message to Trump that they need to be involved in all discussions." Fisher added that Netanyahu was reportedly keen to raise concerns during the meeting about construction activity at a site Israeli officials refer to as "Pickaxe Mountain," which they believe may be linked to a new Iranian nuclear facility.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar described the strike as appearing to be "a preemptive, retaliatory move" on Iran's part. Separately, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had said a day earlier, "We have no negotiations with the United States at present," a statement that appeared to contradict Trump's own claim that Washington and Tehran had been engaged in productive discussion.

Part of an Escalating Pattern

According to Axios, Tuesday's strike marked the first Iranian ballistic missile attack on a US facility since Trump had paused American strikes on Iran roughly a day earlier, following a 13-night US bombing campaign. That campaign had itself been triggered earlier in the month when Iran targeted a US airbase in Jordan in a missile and drone barrage that killed two American service members. Separately, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that Saudi and US forces had carried out "limited, targeted strikes" against Iran-backed militias in Iraq linked to earlier attacks on Saudi oil facilities, adding another front to the rapidly shifting regional picture.

What Comes Next

With CENTCOM explicitly warning of "further US military response" if attacks continue, and Iran signalling that its "resistance will continue" as long as it perceives ongoing threats, the fragile pause in hostilities that had held for roughly a day now appears to be in serious jeopardy. The Pakistan Times will continue to follow developments as the situation unfolds.

Read More:>>>India Calls Azad Kashmir Elections a 'Cosmetic Exercise'

Sources: Al Jazeera, CNN

© The Pakistan Times. All rights reserved.

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