Tehran: Iran has claimed that it launched drone and missile strikes against US-linked military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for US strikes on the country’s southern provinces, according to Iran’s state-affiliated Fars News Agency.
Citing the Iranian Army Public Relations, Fars reported that Iranian army drones targeted the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain early Wednesday morning.
“Following the hostile invasion by the American enemy into areas in the south of the country, army drones targeted the gathering centres of the hostile American forces at the ‘Sheikh Isa Air Base’ located in Bahrain in an attack early this morning,” the statement said, according to Fars News Agency.
Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that it had carried out a large-scale joint missile and drone operation targeting 85 key US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.
According to Fars News Agency, the IRGC said, “IRGC Navy and Aerospace Forces, during a joint missile and drone operation, pounded 85 key US military facilities in Salman Port, the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.”
In a separate statement carried by Fars News Agency, an IRGC spokesperson claimed that Iranian air defences had shot down an American MQ-9 drone over Bushehr Province.
“Following the aerial aggression by the terrorist US Army in the early hours of this morning, an MQ9 drone was struck and downed by the fire of the IRGC’s advanced air defence system in the skies over Khormuj in Bushehr Province,” the spokesperson said, according to Fars News Agency.
The retaliation from Iran comes as US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Tuesday (local time) confirmed it executed a series of counter-offensives on July 7, striking more than 80 military positions inside Iran with precision-guided munitions.
In a post on X, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf enumerated several “major violations” of the MoU committed by the US administration, indicating a severe breakdown in diplomatic commitments between the two countries.
Issuing a firm warning against Washington’s hardline approach and asserting Tehran’s refusal to back down under intense military and economic pressure, Ghalibaf concluded his statement on a defiant note.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere,” he said on X. “We don’t fold.”
According to US defence officials, the targeted operations focused on dismantling Tehran’s maritime offensive capabilities. CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out in response to attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Detailing the maritime security breach in a post on X, CENTCOM stated, “The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
Following the strikes, Iranian state media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Qeshm Island, along with fires at the Sirik pier and Shahid Haqqani Port. Iran’s official news agency IRNA, citing the office of the Governor of Hormozgan province, reported that “to date, there have been no civilian casualty reports resulting from Tuesday evening’s attacks by the American adversary.”
The latest deployment marks the first direct American kinetic action targeting Iran since late June, when a brief cycle of strikes and counter-strikes ended in a temporary cessation of hostilities under a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
