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An Iranian attack on a US military base in Jordan that killed three US soldiers has demonstrated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) ability to carry out mass casualties. five months US-Israel War on Iran.
Friday’s strike was the first time a US soldier was killed in an Iranian attack on the US since March 1, just hours after the US and Israel launched the war.
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Although the Pentagon did not release the details of the attack, experts say that this deadly event underscores an unpleasant truth in Washington: Despite the fact that it happened after the attack on the US planes, Iran continues to fight what is needed to continue the long-term war.
“Iran’s military capabilities are still very difficult. They have reestablished themselves faster than expected,” Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military research at the Defense Priorities think tank, told Al Jazeera.
“His attacks are increasing over time, possibly with the help of Russian and Chinese intelligence,” he added.
“Iran’s military is not a ‘failed war’ as the Pentagon has said. It is badly damaged but it is learning and changing over time.”
Why is Iran still killing US soldiers?
Iran’s ability to continue to kill US personnel in the region is due to the combination of many factors, built by the location and design of US military bases spread across the Middle East and the Gulf, according to Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer at the School of Defense Studies at King’s College London.
About 50,000 US troops are operating from “visible, immovable positions within Iran’s growing military and military base”, he said.
Most of the personnel “are often housed in temporary shelters, designed specifically to protect against rockets, mortars and explosives, rather than having to carry large-armed missiles”.
Therefore, such attacks can be “very damaging”, he said. A near miss can cause serious brain injuries from “over-explosion”, while a distraction can cause injuries from falling debris.
All told, the number of US soldiers killed in the war is 18, including seven soldiers who were killed on March 1 in an Iranian attack on a military base in Kuwait and Prince Sultan’s plane in Saudi Arabia.
Apart from the three killed in Jordan, the military said no other deaths were caused by the Iranian strikes. They include six airmen who were killed in an oil spill in March and, most recently, a A military sergeant was killed when a drone was shot down in Iraq.
About 500 US soldiers have been injured since the start of the war, while about 220 weapons and major US military equipment have been damaged or destroyed following damage to the fire stop on July 8.
Increased air safety
Iran has relied on its “highly advanced” missile and ballistic missile systems to attack US military assets, including Patriot surface-to-air missiles and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles, according to Krieg.
It has developed ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as armed drones, which can approach targets “on different routes and at different speeds”. When combined with fraud and dispersal sites, it can render US defenses ineffective.
“Although most of the incoming missiles will be destroyed, the few that penetrate the protective shield can cause serious damage,” Krieg said.
Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that Iran seems to be showing “greater intent” in fighting the US military in recent years, compared to the first weeks of the war.
“I think what’s important to emphasize is that this appears to be a new, I would argue, threat to Iranian terrorists who want to hit US military forces,” he said.
“This seems to be more so than at other times of war.”
Yacoubian added that the number of recent attacks could be due to high accuracy, damage to US defense and radar systems, or more “lucky hits” due to large-scale attacks. It could be a combination of things, he said.
As of Wednesday, the US and Iran have traded sanctions for 11 consecutive days.
Iran’s military says it will soon inspect F-15 fighter jets, a drone maintenance facility and a helicopter storage facility in Prince Hassan and King Faisal in Jordan. The Bahraini military also said it had foiled several airstrikes from Iran.
Meanwhile, the US has repeatedly struck sites along the Strait of Hormuz, while the Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday that US forces had targeted “Iranian military facilities, naval capabilities, airfields, drone depots, and military equipment”.
On Wednesday, US Senators questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about what he said was Iran’s military “destroyed” in the war.
“Mr. Secretary, you said that on the 14th day of the war, the second week of the conflict, you said that the Iranian army was ‘destroyed,’ and ‘made the war ineffective.’ Was the statement correct, yes or no?” Senator Jon Ossoff asked.
Hegseth maintained that the war was a “major military success”, while Iran’s army, air force and “industrial defenses” failed.
However, he admitted: “We didn’t expect him to stop shooting.
But Jason Campbell, director of the Middle East Institute and director of the Pentagon, said that the attack by the US seems to show that Iran is not limited to its weapons, but also that it can use advanced weapons that have not been used before.
“We know that Iran had a number of weapons that it didn’t use early in the war that it could bring in later if it chose to,” Campbell said.
“And one of them is using its large number of missiles that can be, as it has been shown, accurate shots and have a great ability to evade air defenses and missiles”.
Campbell said: “U.S. senior leaders, on many levels, have overstated the extent of Iran’s and Iran’s decline, or focused on aspects of Iran’s capabilities that are not well known in terms of their ability to achieve their goals”.
Patrick Bury, an associate professor at the University of Bath and a NATO analyst, admitted that Iran could continue to harm US assets and US personnel in the future, even if Washington is winning the war.
“The real issue facing the American military is that there is a price conflict,” he told Al Jazeera.
“It’s well-argued that Iran’s arsenals, especially of drones and missiles, are cheaper to build and fire than the weapons needed to shut them down right now.”
“That’s why Iran is able to destroy wisely”, he added, “and that’s why the problem never ends”.
Or, as the defense professor Krieg explained: “Iran does not need to defeat the United States in a war; it only needs to penetrate its defenses often enough to destroy the people, jobs and politics of America’s existence.”
