▲ Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launching a missile
The Iranian missile attack that recently killed two U.S. soldiers at a base in Jordan successfully penetrated U.S. air defenses and struck a modular barracks where troops were living, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on July 20 (local time).
According to officials familiar with the matter, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17, which hit the living quarters of the soldiers.
A total of three Iranian missiles struck the base in succession within a 24-hour period, including the attack in question.
In the first missile attack, debris struck a gymnasium, but warning sirens allowed soldiers to evacuate to a bunker.
Officials explained that while some soldiers were injured while moving to the bunker, there were no fatalities.
The second Iranian missile hit an empty aircraft hangar.
The third missile struck the container-style modular housing where soldiers were sleeping.
Although warning sirens sounded, not all soldiers were able to evacuate to the bunker.
The two deceased soldiers were identified as Second Lieutenant Tyler Pihan and Private Isabella Gonzalez.
A third soldier, whose identity has not been released, remains missing.
It is unclear whether the deceased soldiers were inside the residential facility or were struck outside while attempting to evacuate.
The attack has led to assessments that it exposed vulnerabilities in U.S. defenses against Iranian missile and drone strikes.
The WSJ reported, "The fact that three missiles were able to penetrate U.S. air defenses suggests the difficulty of protecting the approximately 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East against an Iranian military that still possesses a significant number of ballistic missiles and drones."
With negotiations for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the war at a stalemate, and as the U.S. expands its list of targets within Iran, Tehran has recently been widening the scope of its retaliatory attacks to include U.S. military bases in the region, such as those in Jordan.
President Donald Trump stated on the same day, "Every time Iran kills a U.S. soldier, they will pay for it many times over," expressing his firm intent to retaliate.
(Photo: Screen capture from video released by SEPAHNEWS.COM, Yonhap News)
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