Iran condemned US strikes on its Larak Island overnight Sunday, saying it has a right of self-defense, and subsequently carried out attacks on Jordan and the UAE.
“Iran said it retaliated against the United States in the early hours of Monday morning, targeting US military air bases in Jordan and the UAE and shooting down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Washington launched its first strikes on Iranian territory in a month,” Rudaw media reported.
The Kingdom of Jordan said it intercepted at least eight missiles. The kingdom’s armed forces noted that the missiles were destroyed before they could pose a threat to civilians or property. Jordan once again had to protect its civilians from an Iranian attack.
Iran International noted that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that Iran’s “attacks on Jordan and the United Arab Emirates could expand the scope of confrontations and undermine the opportunities for restoring stability to the region.”
The report added that Egypt condemned the attacks on Jordan and the UAE, “and warned of the consequences of continued escalation of tensions in the region.” It also said Egypt declared its full solidarity with Abu Dhabi and Amman, stressing the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries and protect the security and health of citizens.
Why is Iran targeting Jordan again?
Tehran’s expansion of its retaliation from the Gulf to increasingly target Jordan is not random. This may be in part to keep Iran from angering several key Gulf countries.
For instance, Iran doesn’t want to anger Saudi Arabia after Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan entered into a new pact. In addition, Tehran wants to get along with Qatar and Oman, so it prefers to target the UAE and Jordan.
Targeting Jordan is a message to the US that even if Washington moves military assets away from the Gulf, Iran will still try to hit them farther away. Iran doesn’t want to target Israel, though, because then Israel would likely respond.
As such, Iran is striking Jordan as a message to the US and Israel. It is also targeting the UAE because the country, which hosts US forces, is part of the Abraham Accords. It doesn’t target Qatar, even though there are US bases there. It has also toned down threats to Kuwait.
Rudaw noted that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its Aerospace Force carried out a combined ballistic missile and drone operation against the King Hussein and al-Azraq air bases in Jordan in response to the Larak strike.
Note that Iran is also blaming Israel while attacking an Arab country. Jordan has not attacked Iran. However, the Islamic Republic feels it has impunity to attack wherever it wants. After the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, Tehran lashed out by targeting most countries in the region.
Targeting American bases in Jordan
Now it has narrowed down its list of targets. Tehran’s retaliation is calculated. Iran has also sought to target places it thinks won’t strike back. For instance, it has targeted the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
The regime in Tehran said it targeted “the technical and maintenance infrastructure and the deployment sites of enemy fighter jets at two American airbases,” causing “heavy damage.”
CENTCOM said on Monday that its forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing a threat in the Strait of Hormuz.
Rudaw noted that, “In essence, Iran created the threat and the US military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce.”
Iran also said it downed a US drone and targeted al-Minhad air base south of Dubai.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has tried to claim Iran is not seeking a wider war. However, he is not in charge very much these days. The state is believed to be largely ruled by a junta of IRGC officers who have increased their power over the last six months. “We are not seeking war, but we will give a decisive response to aggressors,” Pezeshkian said on Monday.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, the Foreign Ministry “stressed the need to stop the attacks, reduce tension, and return to the negotiating table, and called for providing an opportunity for diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a solution to restore security and stability and prevent the spread of confrontation in the region,” Iran International noted.
Iran will continue to view Jordan as a kind of “soft underbelly” for attacks when it claims it is retaliating for US strikes. This has now become the Iranian model. Iran does not think Jordan will respond. It also thinks this is a way around the Turkey-Saudi-Pakistan alliance.
Egypt’s comments show that Arab states have solidarity with Jordan.