Iran claims strikes on Gulf bases as US hits sites in Iran
The IRGC said it attacked bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, while mediators sought to defuse a dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missile and drone attacks on military bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait after a new round of US strikes inside Iran. The claims point to a widening conflict tied to control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most sensitive shipping routes.
US Central Command said it had completed a wave of offensive strikes against Iran, targeting dozens of sites at multiple locations. CENTCOM said the operation was meant to reduce Iran’s ability to attack international shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said the targets included Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone assets, and small boats. It said US fighter aircraft and naval vessels took part, along with one-way attack aerial drones and one-way attack sea drones.
IRGC says bases in three countries were hit
The IRGC said the first phase of its response targeted Jordan’s Prince Hassan airbase with missiles and drones. In its statement, the force said fuel depots and ammunition storage facilities caught fire.
The IRGC said that attack followed US strikes on Iranian coastal military bases. It said those US attacks came after the IRGC Navy moved to stop two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing them of switching off tracking systems, travelling illegally and putting navigation at risk.
In Bahrain, the IRGC said its aerospace forces struck several facilities at Sheikh Isa airbase. The force said the targets included helicopter maintenance sites, a hangar holding a P-8 aircraft and a US military drone command-and-control centre.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said sirens sounded again and told people to stay calm and go to the nearest safe location. The ministry’s warning came after the IRGC’s claim of strikes on the airbase.
The IRGC also said it attacked two airbases in Kuwait. It claimed to have destroyed fuel tanks and Patriot air defence systems at Ali Al-Salem airbase and a strategic FPS radar system at Ahmed Al-Jaber airbase.
Iran’s Nour News Agency, citing an Iranian military official, said the Iranian Army and the IRGC had launched large-scale missile and drone attacks on what it called enemy bases in the region. The agency said the operation responded to continuing US attacks on Iran and targeted sites identified after enemy movements over the previous 48 hours.
Explosions reported in southern Iran
Iran’s IRNA news agency reported at least two strong explosions in Bandar Abbas, in southern Hormozgan province. The report came shortly before CENTCOM announced that its latest round of strikes had ended.
Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Doha, said regional diplomacy remains focused on a dispute over how the Strait of Hormuz should be managed. He said Qatar recently sent a delegation to Iran, while Iranian and Omani officials have also held talks.
Vall said the dispute centers on different readings of a memorandum of understanding signed several weeks ago. He said Iran believes it has authority under the document to manage ship traffic and require prior permission, while the United States believes Iran must allow free passage through the waterway.
Alan Eyre, a former senior US diplomat and member of the US negotiating team for the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, told Al Jazeera that the US and Israel’s war on Iran had disrupted the region’s strategic balance. Eyre said the United States may have to accept greater Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz to reach a nuclear deal, while Israel wants further attacks on Iran and Hezbollah.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.