Iran Missiles Hit U.S. Base in Saudi Arabia, Destroying $300M E-3 Sentry in First Combat Loss

Iran launched a barrage of six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia's Al-Kharj province late Saturday, wounding at least 12 American service members and destroying a $300 million E-3 Sentry airborne radar aircraft in the most consequential single strike of the five-week-old war. It marked the first time the United States has lost an E-3 Sentry in combat since the aircraft entered service in 1977.

The attack came as oil prices surged past $116 per barrel and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the conflict could last another two to four weeks. U.S. Central Command confirmed the E-3 Sentry — the military's most advanced airborne warning and control aircraft — was struck on the tarmac and rendered a total loss. Two KC-135 aerial refueling tankers were also damaged in the attack. Ukrainian intelligence officials, citing satellite imagery, said Russian reconnaissance aircraft had photographed the base three times in the weeks before the strike, though the Pentagon declined to comment on any Russian involvement in target selection.

Iranian state television broadcast footage of what it described as the launch sequence, showing multiple Shahab-3 variants lifting off from undisclosed sites. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement saying the attack was retaliation for Israeli airstrikes that killed an estimated 1,500 Iranian civilians over the prior week, including at least 217 children. Iran's information ministry said the country's internet infrastructure remained at roughly one percent of normal capacity following a 30-day communications blackout imposed by the government.

President Trump addressed reporters briefly before boarding Marine One at the White House, saying the attack would "not go unanswered" and confirming that he had asked the Pentagon to present options within 24 hours. When asked by a Financial Times correspondent whether the United States might target Kharg Island — Iran's main crude oil export terminal, which processes roughly 90 percent of the country's petroleum exports — Trump said, "Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't." The statement sent Brent crude futures briefly above $120 before settling back near $116 at close of trading.

The strike raised the cumulative U.S. casualty count to more than 300 wounded and 13 killed since the war began in late February, according to CENTCOM figures. Roughly 50,000 American troops are now deployed across the broader Middle East theater, approximately 10,000 above peacetime levels, with a Marine Expeditionary Unit of 3,500 personnel that recently arrived joining a second MEU en route. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to commercial tanker traffic, with daily oil transits down 90 to 95 percent from normal levels. Diesel prices in the United States have risen 43.5 percent since the blockade began, and Brent crude posted its largest monthly gain on record in March — a 51 percent surge that surpassed the 46 percent spike during the Gulf War in September 1990.

Pakistan announced it would host a meeting between American and Iranian diplomats in the coming days, the first face-to-face talks since the fighting began. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, appeared before state television to warn that "the warriors of Islam are waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire," signaling no imminent readiness for ceasefire discussions. Spain announced it had formally closed its airspace to U.S. military aircraft participating in operations against Iran, joining a growing list of European nations expressing concern about the conflict's expansion.