Iran launches 'surprise attack' on US forces in Middle East

Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in the Middle East on Tuesday evening, in what U.S. Central Command (Centcom) called an attempted surprise attack.

It was the first publicly disclosed attack on U.S. service members in the region since President Trump ordered a halt on attacks against Iran last week.

The missiles, which were fired at 5:45 p.m., were all shot down, Centcom, which oversees operations of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in a statement.

Axios reported the base was in Jordan. CNN reported four ballistic missiles were fired in the attack.

"U.S. forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness," Centcom said.

In an update following the reported Iranian attack on a U.S. base, Centcom announced that alongside Saudi Arabian Armed Forces, precision strikes were conducted in Iraq against Iran-aligned terrorists on Tuesday.

The strikes from Iran came hours after Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, their first in-person meeting since the two countries launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.

The U.S. military carried out 13 nights in a row of airstrikes against Iran earlier this month. Trump ordered the pause on strikes against Iran on Friday, following the meeting with top advisers and his national security team, to create space for diplomatic negotiations with Tehran.

The president was thinking about unleashing major combat operations, supported by Republican defense hawks in Congress, but Trump opted to hold back, in part over concerns regarding the U.S. dwindling stockpiles and expanding the conflict further into the region.

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