Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it destroyed three US F-35 stealth fighters and damaged three more in a missile strike on Jordan's al-Azraq air base, though US and Jordanian officials report only limited damage on the ground. The claim follows a second wave of strikes in July that killed two American service members, and crypto markets responded with over $1 billion in liquidations even as bitcoin held near $63,000.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it launched 12 ballistic missiles at the US-operated al-Azraq air base in Jordan, claiming to have destroyed three American F-35 stealth fighters and damaged three others. US and Jordanian officials, however, say their air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles, with only limited damage reported on the ground.
Two waves of strikes hit the same base
The IRGC launched its salvo on June 10-11, 2026, targeting facilities it believed housed advanced aircraft including the F-35, F-15, and F-16. Then, between July 9-14, a second wave of Iranian missile and drone strikes hit the same base, killing two American service members and leaving one additional soldier missing.
Jordanian air defenses intercepted most of an approximately 10-missile assault during the July attacks. This is the same base where three US soldiers died in a January 2024 drone attack.
Leveraged positions unwind as bitcoin holds near $63,000
The July strikes triggered over $1 billion in liquidations across the broader crypto market. Bitcoin itself held remarkably steady, trading near $63,000 throughout the chaos.
Most of those liquidations came from leveraged long positions that couldn't survive a sudden downtick, and bitcoin's resilience suggests spot holders are not panicking over the Middle East escalation.
The F-35 claim carries a market angle of its own
The F-35 program is the most expensive weapons system in human history, and its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is a publicly traded company whose stock price is sensitive to perceptions of the jet's invulnerability. No damage to the F-35 jets has been independently verified by US or Jordanian authorities.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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