Iran Damages 9 U.S. Jets at Jordan Base as Brent Crude Hits $101

Q: What hidden nuclear developments prompted the IAEA to refer Iran to the Security Council for the first time in 20 years?

The IAEA’s referral was driven by two hidden or unverified nuclear concerns: unexplained uranium traces at undeclared Iranian sites and the watchdog’s loss of visibility over Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile after the 2025 strikes on its facilities. According to the agency and reporting cited here, inspectors have for years been seeking answers about uranium particles found at locations Iran had not declared. Western officials say those traces may point to nuclear material and activities linked to a covert weapons-related effort that Iran allegedly maintained until 2003. Iran denies that and says its program is peaceful, but the IAEA said Tehran still had not credibly explained the findings. The second major trigger was Iran’s refusal to restore full inspector access after U.S. and Israeli attacks on key nuclear sites in June 2025. Since then, the IAEA has said it could not verify the condition of bombed facilities or the whereabouts and composition of Iran’s enriched uranium, including a stockpile of about 440.9 kilograms enriched to 60% purity, which is near weapons-grade. That gap in monitoring was described by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi as a serious proliferation concern. So the “hidden developments” were not a newly announced bomb program, but unresolved evidence of undeclared past nuclear work and a present-day inability to track Iran’s near-weapons-grade uranium and inspect damaged sites.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Sep 10

Eight F-15s and one A-10 were damaged in Iranian strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, though no U.S. deaths were reported and the F-15s were returned to service.
More than 30 Patriot missiles were fired from Jordan to defend the base after Tehran retaliated for U.S. strikes on five Iranian oil tankers, which Washington said answered earlier Iranian attacks on a U.S. warship.
U.S. officials are now worried about rapidly declining Patriot and other precision-munition stockpiles as the exchange widens across the region.
Brent crude climbed to $101 a barrel—its highest since late May—and Goldman Sachs said prices could top $120 as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained.
The conflict is also spreading through Yemen, where Houthis seized Mokha and kept up attacks tied to the Bab al-Mandeb corridor, adding pressure to regional energy routes.