Tehran, Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after the United States launched a new wave of strikes on Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange marked a further blow to a fragile ceasefire agreement.
Iran reports strikes on U.S. sites
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against what it described as key U.S. military sites in Bandar Salman, Bahrain’s Fifth Naval District, and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. It also said it shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone that it said was attempting to interfere in the operation.
Alerts in Bahrain and Kuwait
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, and the Kuwaiti army said air defences were confronting what it called hostile missile and drone attacks. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military on the reported strikes.
U.S. response to tanker attacks
Earlier, the United States launched fresh military strikes and revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil in response to attacks on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. Central Command said more than 60 small boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were among the targets hit during the operation. It said the action was intended to impose a heavy cost on Iran for strikes on shipping that it said violated the ceasefire.
“The unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces is a clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
NATO and Iranian reactions
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters before a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara that the new U.S. attacks on Iran were “absolutely necessary.”
“When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react,” Rutte said.
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, condemned the U.S. strikes as a “blatant act of aggression,” threatened a “crushing response,” and warned that Tehran would not allow U.S. interference in the management of the strait.
A top Iranian negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire agreement. He cited the latest U.S. military strikes, renewed oil sanctions, violations of Iranian “adjustments” in the Strait of Hormuz, and Israeli attacks against Lebanon.