Iran claims it has shattered a key pillar of America’s missile shield in the Middle East, announcing that precision strikes have “destroyed” the radar system of a US THAAD battery stationed in Jordan, just hours after new Israeli raids inside Iran.

According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a salvo of ballistic missiles and guided rockets was launched at a “forward US radar site supporting Zionist operations.” Drone footage broadcast on Iranian TV shows explosions ripping through a desert installation, followed by flames engulfing what appear to be large radar arrays and support vehicles.

US Central Command confirms “damage to a forward‑deployed sensor node” in Jordan but insists the THAAD battery is “degraded, not destroyed,” and that backup radars in Israel and the Gulf have restored much of the lost coverage. Still, officials admit there was a “temporary blind spot” over parts of western Iraq and eastern Syria during the attack window.

In Jerusalem, defence analysts warn that even a brief radar outage could open a corridor for Iranian or proxy missile launches, forcing Israel to lean harder on its own Arrow and Green Pine systems. Jordan, caught in the middle, is scrambling to reassure an anxious public that it is not becoming a front‑line battlefield.

European capitals are quietly alarmed. If Iran can hit and at least temporarily knock out America’s most advanced radar in Jordan, they ask, what does that mean for the credibility of Western missile defence from the Mediterranean to the Gulf—just as the US‑Israel–Iran war races toward a dangerous new phase?