US attacks Iran as IRGC claims strikes on US military sites in Gulf

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the US military in the Middle East, said the seven-hour operation concluded at 10pm EDT on Tuesday (02:00 GMT Wednesday), with fighter aircraft, drones and naval vessels striking “dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas”. The strikes coincided with Washington’s resumption of its naval blockade of Iranian ports, while oil prices climbed amid concerns over disruptions to global energy supplies. Iranian media reported explosions in several cities and on islands along the country’s southern coast, including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Hengam, Sirik and Bushehr, where air defence systems were activated. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi described “another night of escalation”, saying a bottled water facility in Dehloran, western Ilam province, was reportedly hit, while Iranian sources said projectiles struck soldiers’ accommodation at a military base in Bampur, in southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province. There was no immediate confirmation of any casualties.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched overnight attacks on US military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in response to the latest US strikes. The IRGC claimed it had inflicted heavy damage on the US Fifth Fleet headquarters, support facilities and fuel tanks in Bahrain, as well as a major US military logistics hub at Mina Abdullah in Kuwait. The group also said it destroyed shelters housing US F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, as well as several MQ-9 drones. Meanwhile, Jordan’s military said its air defences intercepted and shot down three Iranian ballistic missiles that entered the country’s airspace early on.