Tehran, Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after the United States launched military strikes on Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The developments marked a further blow to a fragile ceasefire agreement.
Iranian operation and regional alerts
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. MQ9 drone that it said was attempting to interfere in the operation.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, officials said. The Kuwaiti army said air defences were confronting “hostile” missile and drone attacks.
U.S. strikes and sanctions move
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.
The U.S. Central Command said more than 60 small boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were among the targets hit, saying the action was intended to impose a heavy cost on Iran for strikes on shipping in violation of 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.
Iranian response and accusations
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 said Tehran would not allow U.S. interference in the management of the strait.
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.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Qalibaf said in a post on X. “We don’t fold.”
Reported explosions in Iran
Iranian media earlier reported explosions in Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island, on Qeshm Island and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas.
