At least 12 US service members were wounded on Friday following a heavy Iranian missile and drone attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
The strike which hit a building housing personnel left two soldiers in serious condition. The assault involved at least one ballistic missile and several one-way attack drones.
Beyond the human toll, the strike caused significant damage to several US refueling planes including KC-135 tankers and an E-3 Sentry command aircraft.
This marks one of the most serious breaches of air defenses since the conflict began on February 28.
Responding to the escalation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Iran will exact a HEAVY price for Israeli crimes,” referring to recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, US officials are assessing the damage. A US Central Command spokesperson noted that while over 300 Americans have been injured in the month-long war, the “vast majority” of those injuries have been minor.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio remained defiant telling reporters, “We are achieving all of those objectives and we can achieve them without any ground troops.”
