//The Wire//2100Z July 22, 2026//
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//BLUF: IRANIAN TARGETING OF AMERICAN BASES REMAINS SIGNIFICANT. MISSILE THREAT ISSUED FOR LA GUARDIA LAST NIGHT, REPORT QUICKLY DEEMED NOT CREDIBLE.//
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-International Events-
Kuwait: Strikes on American positions continue to degrade American capabilities. The logistical hub at Camp Doha in Kuwait City was struck overnight, along with possible strikes at the remote HIMARS launch sites in near the Iraqi border. Iran also claimed to have struck the AN/FPS-117 Early Warning radar array at Ahmed al-Jaber Airbase.
Analyst Comment: Unlike all of the other strikes, this site cannot be independently verified or geolocated using current satellite imagery, so it might be a newly constructed site or the Iranians got the names of bases mixed up.
Saudi Arabia: Iranian missile strikes were reported throughout the morning, with unknown success. The oil terminals at Yanbu as well as American positions at Prince Sultan Airbase were targeted, with unknown effect.
Jordan: American positions continue to be struck at Muwaffaq al Salti Airbase, in the vicinity of the strike that killed 3x service members last week. In central Jordan, King Faisal Airbase was targeted as well, with satellite imagery confirming that as of this morning, one of the structures targeted was still on fire. Down south, the American positions at King Hussein International Airport were targeted, as the Iranians attempted to strike the American refueling aircraft that have been parked on the apron for several days. Israeli citizens across the border observed smoke over the mountain ridge in the vicinity of this airport.
Analyst Comment: Now that the Iranians know that their targeting is effective at Muwaffaq, they will continue targeting the same location over and over again. Same with Tower 22, the far-flung base in Jordan's northeastern quadrant, where extensive damage has been noted. Also, the Iranians claim to have unveiled a comparatively new missile system during this wave of attacks; Iran used many of their low-grade missiles during the early days of the war, and now they are occasionally pulling out the newer missiles which have more advanced maneuverability during the terminal phases of the warhead's flight. This might be a contributing factor for why missile interceptions are completely non-existent during some attack waves.
-HomeFront-
New York: Last night, a security incident was reported at La Guardia after a MANPAD alert was issued for the airport. Port Authority Police alerted the tower regarding a threat they had received regarding the potential use of a shoulder-fired Surface-to-Air missile launcher being used to target a civilian airliner. The report was deemed to be not credible almost immediately afterwards, but the alert was still sent out over the radio to all aircraft in the vicinity.
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Analyst Comments: Sometimes, a few seconds of radio traffic is very illuminating. Listening to the very brief radio exchange between the tower and a Delta flight explaining the issue in New York, perhaps the most telling and concerning detail is that La Guardia possibly has a "MANPAD alert" procedure now. From a counterterrorism perspective this is a good thing, but it's also very disconcerting that this contingency is something that is not only actively being planned for...but already has a procedure drawn up for it. Granted, there's not a whole lot that a commercial airline pilot can do with that information while trying to land, and the rather nonchalant affirmation that no issues have been reported "yet" is only slightly reassuring. But this does go to show that threats within the homeland don't take a break just because eastern Europe and the Middle East are on fire, and the threats to commercial aviation are always on the menu even if most of the concerns are not credible. However, it only takes one credible threat for a very bad day to occur, and this target vector is the epitome of the old counterterrorism saying: We have to be successful in defending ourselves every single time, but the terrorist has to succeed only once.
Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269
Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report.
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