An Iranian missile is launched toward US military facilities in the Middle East. [AFP]
An Iranian missile is launched toward US military facilities in the Middle East. [AFP]

US Central Command, which oversees American military operations against Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian forces had fired ballistic missiles at US bases in the Middle East.

CENTCOM said on X (formerly Twitter) that at 5:45 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in a surprise attack targeting US military bases in the region. "All of Iran's missiles were successfully intercepted," CENTCOM said, adding that US forces "remain on alert and are maintaining a high level of readiness."

The reason Iranian forces targeted US bases has not been disclosed.

The US military had carried out 13 consecutive days of airstrikes against Iran before halting them July 24, after which Iran had also stopped retaliatory strikes against American bases in the Middle East. Iran's surprise attack Wednesday, however, threw into crisis a five-day lull in hostilities that had shifted the focus toward diplomacy.

During the pause in fighting, President Donald Trump had said negotiations with Iran were underway and expressed confidence that a deal was within reach, while also threatening to launch far more powerful airstrikes against Iran should the talks fail.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com