A senior American official said that Iran has launched a ballistic missile at a US base in Saudi Arabia. This is the first direct Iranian attack on Saudi soil in almost four months.
Iran Government/Original Source:
*IRAN COVERAGE NOTICE*
Today marks the eighth consecutive day of sustained strikes on Iran, with the volume of developments now far beyond what one person can responsibly live update.
I will not be covering every strike, claim, or battlefield development in real time. I also have to continuously monitor Europe and Asia, which I currently assess as presenting greater nuclear escalation risks than Iran.l CURRENTLY.
My coverage therefore has to be triaged by threat priority. I will continue posting one or two consolidated Iran updates each day covering major developments and will still investigate questionable or widely circulated claims when possible.
Coverage is not ending. It is shifting from continuous live reporting to periodic summaries and verification.
To be clear, I am not downplaying the seriousness of the Iran conflict. It is dangerous, but I no longer assess it as an immediate nuclear war threat. Bad? Yes. Nuclear crisis? No.For roughly fifteen years, the Asian military and geopolitical theater was one of the quieter parts of my reporting. Barely touched it. Because there was nothing worth reporting really. Europe and the Middle East usually generated most of the meaningful activity the last 15 years.
That has changed over the past six months. Without a doubt in my mind.
More than half of my reporting has increasingly involved Asia, and much of it has been unusual compared with the historical baseline.
Even during the height of the Iran war, Asian developments continued becoming more frequent and more noteworthy.
I am not predicting that a war or major crisis is imminent. I am simply observing that the regional status quo has changed.
My current assessment is that Asia is naturally becoming the primary arena of global power competition in this century, much as Europe was in the last. It is also possible that regional powers used the world’s focus on Iran as an opportunity to advance existing military, political, and strategic objectives with less scrutiny.
What this ultimately leads to is unclear. It may lead to nothing immediate. However, after fifteen years of watching the region, I am confident that the Asian theater is no longer behaving according to its previous baseline.
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TAMPA, Fla. — On July 17, two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing.
Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty. Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified.
