Iran-US War Update: Iran Hits Back, US Gulf Bases Brace For Retaliation

Sirens were heard in the Jordanian capital on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran.

The public security directorate in Amman said "the meaning of the sirens will be as follows: three intermittent sirens mean there is a threat, and one siren means the threat has passed".

"When you hear the three sirens, it is advisable to stay where you are and not move. If you are outside your home, you should take shelter in the nearest building until the threat has passed," it added in a statement.

Emergency sirens went off in Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, the interior ministry said on Saturday following US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

"The siren has been sounded due to a hazard," said an interior ministry alert sent to residents' mobile phones. AFP correspondents in Manama also reported hearing the siren.

Warplanes and missiles were seen flying through Iraqi airspace as Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, witnesses and a military source told AFP.

The military source said on condition of anonymity "our forces detected warplanes from the direction of Israel that crossed the airspace over Baghdad" and other provinces, adding that missiles were also seen flying over the northern province of Kirkuk.

"We saw several missiles flying at a low altitude" near the district of Dakuk in Kirkuk, two witnesses said. A soldier in the city of Ramadi in western Iraq told AFP he saw warplanes flying overhead.

AFP journalists heard several blasts over Jerusalem on Saturday following air raid sirens in the city, after the Israeli military said it had detected multiple barrages of missiles launched from Iran.

"An additional barrage of missiles was launched towards the State of Israel. The public is requested to continue to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command, the public is requested to stay in protected spaces until official notice," the military said in a statement.

Jordan's military said its air force was conducting sorties on Saturday to protect the kingdom and its people, as Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran.

"The sounds heard in the skies over a number of areas of the Kingdom are from aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, which are carrying out routine flights as part of their operational duties," a military source said, after sirens were reported in Amman.

"These sorties are part of aerial reconnaissance and inspection operations aimed at maintaining the safety of Jordanian airspace and ensuring that it is free from any attempts at infiltration or illegal activities," the source added

Following coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, regional capitals are shifting to emergency posture. The United States has instructed embassy staff and citizens in the UAE to "shelter in place," signalling credible intelligence of possible retaliatory action. In Bahrain, explosions were reported in Manama as emergency sirens sounded across the kingdom - home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

In Amman, sirens echoed across the Jordanian capital. Authorities issued public guidance: three intermittent sirens indicate an active threat; a single siren signals clearance. Jordan's military confirmed Royal Air Force sorties to secure its airspace amid heightened regional risk.

Iraqi airspace has emerged as a visible corridor of escalation. Witnesses and a military source told AFP that Israeli warplanes crossed over Baghdad and other provinces, with missiles observed flying low over Kirkuk. Similar overflights were reported near Ramadi. Iraq, once again, finds itself an unwilling geographic bridge in a widening conflict.

Inside Israel, air raid sirens were activated in Jerusalem following what the military described as "multiple barrages of missiles" launched from Iran. The public was directed to remain in protected spaces.

The strategic question now is not whether Iran will respond - but how and where. Direct missile strikes on Israeli cities are one layer. The more consequential risk lies elsewhere: U.S. installations across the Gulf.

From Bahrain's Fifth Fleet headquarters to facilities in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE, American assets are within range of Iranian ballistic missiles and armed drones. Tehran's calculus may favour asymmetric retaliation through regional proxies or calibrated strikes on U.S. bases to widen deterrence without triggering full-scale war.

The coming hours are critical. If American military infrastructure becomes a direct target, this conflict will cease to be a contained Israel-Iran exchange. It will become a broader regional war with global economic and security consequences.