Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Iran attacked three American military bases on July 22. The bases are in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Iran used drones for the attacks. The drones hit buildings, equipment, and supply areas at each base.
President Trump said the United States would bomb a bridge or a power plant in Iran every time Iran hits a ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also said the US might soon attack a mountain in Iran called Pickaxe Mountain. People believe it hides a nuclear site.
- attack
- to use force against someone or something
- military
- relating to soldiers, armies, or war
- base
- a place where soldiers and equipment are kept
- drone
- a small flying machine controlled without a pilot inside it
- bomb
- to attack with explosives
- bridge
- a structure built over a river or road so people can cross
- mountain
- a very high area of land
- nuclear
- relating to the energy inside atoms, used for power or weapons
Level 2 — Elementary
Iran's army launched retaliatory drone strikes against US military bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait on July 22, escalating the region's ongoing conflict.
The strikes targeted al-Azraq air base in Jordan, Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and Camp Doha in Kuwait, hitting equipment depots, maintenance hangars, and supply areas.
President Trump warned that the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran fires at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil shipments.
Trump also threatened to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear facility near the city of Natanz, saying the US would hit it very heavily and very soon.
- retaliatory
- done in return for an attack, as an act of revenge
- escalate
- to become more serious or intense
- depot
- a place where supplies or equipment are stored
- hangar
- a large building used to store and repair aircraft
- destroy
- to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or works
- waterway
- a river, canal, or channel that ships can travel through
- suspected
- believed to be true or likely, without full proof
- threaten
- to say that you will cause harm if something is not done
Level 3 — Intermediate
Iran's armed forces launched retaliatory drone strikes against three US military installations in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait on July 22, deepening a Middle East conflict that has stretched into its eleventh consecutive day of American airstrikes on Iranian territory.
The drones targeted buildings housing US forces and equipment depots at al-Azraq base in Jordan, aircraft maintenance hangars at Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and ammunition depots at Camp Doha in Kuwait, according to Iranian military statements.
President Trump escalated his rhetoric further, declaring on social media that the United States would bomb and destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran fires a missile, rocket, or drone at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Separately, Trump threatened to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear facility near the Natanz enrichment site that was previously bombed in 2025, even as the United States signed a new civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia the same week.
- installation
- a military base or facility set up for a specific purpose
- consecutive
- following one after another without interruption
- ammunition
- bullets, shells, and other materials fired from weapons
- rhetoric
- language intended to persuade or influence, often used in political speech
- enrichment
- the process of increasing the concentration of a particular substance, such as uranium
- civil
- relating to ordinary citizens and peaceful purposes rather than military ones
- cooperation
- the act of working together toward a shared goal
- previously
- at an earlier time, before now
Level 4 — Advanced
Iran's armed forces launched retaliatory drone strikes against three US military installations across Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait on July 22, further inflaming a Middle East conflict now in its eleventh consecutive day of American airstrikes against Iranian territory.
According to Iranian military statements, the drones targeted buildings housing US forces and equipment depots at al-Azraq base in Jordan, aircraft maintenance hangars at Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, and ammunition depots and logistical equipment at Camp Doha in Kuwait.
President Trump simultaneously ratcheted up his rhetoric, declaring in a social media post that the United States would bomb and destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant every time Tehran fires a missile, rocket, or drone at a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a policy he framed as an automatic and escalating response.
Trump further threatened an imminent strike on Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear facility near the Natanz enrichment complex previously targeted in 2025, a threat issued in the same week the United States and Saudi Arabia formalized a civil nuclear cooperation agreement granting American firms priority access to the kingdom's nuclear energy program.
- inflame
- to make a conflict or situation more intense or violent
- logistical
- relating to the organization and movement of supplies, equipment, and personnel
- ratchet up
- to increase something steadily and significantly
- transit
- to pass through or across a place
- vessel
- a ship or large boat
- imminent
- about to happen very soon
- complex
- a group of buildings or facilities used for a related purpose
- formalize
- to make an agreement or arrangement official
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