Manama: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched missile and drone strikes targeting key U.S. military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, shooting down a U.S. MQ9 drone and causing air raid sirens to sound across both nations. This move is seen as a retaliation for a series of large-scale U.S. airstrikes conducted against Iran.
According to Thai News Agency, the operation targeted the Bandar Salman area, Bahrain's Fifth Naval District, and the Ali Al-Salem air base in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti military reported that its air defense systems were actively intercepting the missile and drone attacks. This incident is the latest in a series of conflicts that have flared up following an attack on three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's counterattack followed U.S. military airstrikes on multiple Iranian targets, which included the destruction of air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, missiles, and over 60 small vessels belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. Central Command has condemned Iran's aggressive actions, labeling them a serious violation of the ceasefire and a threat to the freedom of commercial navigation.
Meanwhile, Iranian local media have reported explosions in the Kharg Island area, the main hub for Iran's crude oil exports, as well as on Qeshm Island and southern ports like Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Several individuals were reportedly injured by shrapnel from explosions that hit the commercial port in Sirik. However, the US Central Command did not include an attack on Kharg Island in its official statement.
Iran's Supreme Military Command, known as Qataum al-Anbiya, has condemned the U.S. attacks as clear acts of aggression and has threatened severe retaliation. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaif, Iran's Speaker of the National Assembly and chief negotiator, accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire agreement through military attacks, reinstating oil sanctions, and permitting an attack on Lebanon. He stated on social media that the era of intimidation and blackmail was over, declaring that Iran would not back down.
In addition to the military confrontation, the United States announced the revocation of special licenses that allowed Iran to sell oil on the global market, setting a deadline of July 17th for the cessation of all transactions. This decision has already caused global oil prices to surge by more than 3 percent. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the measure as undermining the peace agreement and stated that the US government would be held accountable for all consequences.
This escalation has significantly impacted the fragile ceasefire agreement that the United States and Iran recently reached. While U.S. officials assert that negotiators are diligently working towards a final agreement, analysts suggest that Iran is leveraging its strategic control of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on cargo ships, including the previously damaged Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, to increase pressure in the ongoing peace negotiations with the United States.