Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 1

Mamdani Denied Speaking at 28-Year-Old Sgt. Rampersad's Funeral as Netanyahu Remarks Deepen Tensions

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 1

Mamdani Denied Speaking at 28-Year-Old Sgt. Rampersad's Funeral as Netanyahu Remarks Deepen Tensions

Q: What crucial security gap at the Jordan air base led to the tragic loss of this Queens hometown hero?

The key security gap appears to have been inadequate air and missile defense coverage at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, leaving the installation vulnerable to a combined Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack. Reporting tied to the attack indicates Iran was able to penetrate or overwhelm defenses around the Jordan base, which hosts a major U.S. military presence and had already been identified as a frequent target. Additional coverage cited U.S. officials and analysts saying advanced Iranian missiles, paired with drones, stressed or saturated available defenses. Some reports also pointed to depleted stocks of interceptors such as Patriot and THAAD missiles across the region, limiting the ability to stop every incoming threat. That meant the base’s protective shield was not sufficient against the scale and type of strike Iran launched. Even where some missiles were intercepted by Jordanian defenses, the overall gap was that the base remained exposed to a high-end attack capable of getting through. So, the crucial failure was not a lack of warning that the region was dangerous, but that the base did not have enough effective missile-defense protection to fully defend personnel against the Iranian barrage.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 1

Queens funeral organizers did not call on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to speak at Friday's service for Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad, and his office later released the prepared remarks he had brought.
A source told the New York Post Rampersad's family wanted to avoid "political distractions," after Mamdani's comments on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heightened friction with parts of New York's Jewish community.
Gov. Kathy Hochul did deliver remarks at the Ozone Park service, which Mamdani attended alongside other officials as pallbearers carried the 28-year-old soldier's casket from the church.
Rampersad was one of 3 U.S. service members killed on July 17 while defending Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan from Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks during support for Operation Inherent Resolve.