WASHINGTON — The United States resumed airstrikes on Iran after a month-long pause, prompting Iran to retaliate against U.S. military bases in Jordan. Within the U.S. military, concerns have surfaced that a prolonged conflict with Iran is not sustainable.
A U.S. government official said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been observed preparing to fire rockets carrying naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz, and that U.S. forces struck two rocket launch sites on Larak Island in response, Reuters reported on the 30th. It was the first U.S. military strike on Iran since July 29.
The strike caused casualties. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported at least two people were killed and two wounded. Iran responded immediately. The IRGC claimed it fired multiple missiles at technical infrastructure, maintenance depots and fighter jet parking facilities at two air bases hosting U.S. troops in Jordan — Muwaffaq Salti and Al Azraq — inflicting serious damage. The U.S. military countered that it intercepted all of the missiles.
Meanwhile, senior U.S. military leaders expressed concern to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about drawing out the war with Iran, The Washington Post reported, citing multiple sources. A prolonged campaign against Iran could weaken the ability to respond to enemy threats to the U.S. homeland and in other regions, they warned.
The chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, along with four-star generals overseeing U.S. military operations across Europe, Asia and Latin America, submitted those views in the Secretary of Defense Orders Book dated the 14th of this month. The classified SDOB is published twice a month and includes an overview of the availability of U.S. warships, aircraft, troops and weapons systems deployed worldwide, along with the assessments of the military's top commanders.
