WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iranian missile attack Friday wounded at least 10 U.S. service members and damaged several planes at a military base in Saudi Arabia, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the situation.
Two of the troops were seriously wounded, one of the officials said. The attack on Prince Sultan Air Base damaged several U.S. refueling aircraft, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
The attack, which involved an Iranian missile as well as drones, comes a day after President Donald Trump said Iran has been “obliterated” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “never in recorded history has a nation’s military been so quickly and so effectively neutralized.”
This is not the first time that Prince Sultan Air Base has been targeted by Iran. Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, was wounded during a March 1 attack on the base and died days later. He is one of the 13 service members who have been killed in the war.
Satellite imagery that appeared to show the damage to the aircraft in the latest attack had been posted online. The attack was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
U.S. Central Command said earlier Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the monthlong conflict. While most of the wounded have recovered and returned to duty, 30 remained out of action and 10 were considered seriously wounded.
The Trump administration offered a 15-point plan for a possible ceasefire to Iran, with Pakistan as an intermediary.
Iran has denied that negotiations are taking place, while its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and roiled the world economy. Tehran on Friday, however, said it agreed to facilitate humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the crucial waterway.
Despite the discussion of talks, the Pentagon is preparing to send at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division — a unit trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields — to the Middle East in the coming days.
The military is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.
Despite thousands of additional troops heading to the region, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States “can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops.”
In terms of the additional deployments, “we are always going to be prepared to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge,” Rubio told reporters after the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in France.