Iranian strikes on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait<\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement announcing that, in a \u201cjoint missile and drone operation,\u201d it targeted 85 locations across U.S. military facilities at Salman Port, the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. The IRGC also claimed to have shot down an American strike drone.<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that it had targeted the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain in a drone attack. The Army\u2019s public relations office stated that the operation was carried out in retaliation for the \u201chostile U.S. aggression against military and civilian areas in southern Iran\u201d and what it termed a \u201cblatant violation of the memorandum of understanding\u201d between Tehran and Washington.<\/p>\n
The Army\u2019s statement noted that \u201cgathering centers of hostile U.S. forces\u201d at the Sheikh Isa base were targeted with offensive drones. The Army further warned that if the conflict continues, it will consider all U.S. bases in the region as \u201clegitimate targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
These strikes were carried out just hours after CENTCOM announced attacks on 80 targets in southern Iran, stating that the operation was in response to attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Officials of the Islamic Republic have described those strikes, as well as the U.S. cancellation of Iran\u2019s oil waivers, as a \u201cclear violation\u201d of the terms of the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, news sources reported that air raid sirens were activated and multiple explosions occurred in Bahrain. An AFP correspondent also reported hearing powerful explosions in northern Bahrain.<\/p>\n
At the same time, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte defended the U.S. strikes on southern Iran ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, calling them \u201cnecessary.\u201d He claimed that the Islamic Republic had violated the ceasefire by attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, making the U.S. military response necessary.<\/p>\n
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated dramatically in recent days following the attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n