DID Press: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched missile and drone strikes against U.S. military positions in Kuwait and Bahrain, while the Iranian Army claimed to have targeted three U.S. bases in Kuwait. The IRGC also reported that two oil tankers caught fire south of the Strait of Hormuz, as regional tensions continued to escalate.
According to an IRGC statement, the two tankers were engulfed in flames after explosions occurred while they were attempting to transit what the force described as an “unsafe route” south of the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC said the vessels had been forced to halt and that rescue operations were underway to evacuate their crews.
The IRGC Navy also warned international shipping companies to avoid what it described as “contaminated and dangerous” maritime routes in the area.
In a separate statement, the IRGC said the 24th wave of its “Nasr 2” operation targeted a long-range radar installation, a communications center, satellite reception systems, a missile-defense radar, and an MQ-9 Reaper drone hangar in Kuwait using missiles and drones.
The statement further claimed that several MQ-9 drones at Ali Al Salem Air Base were destroyed or damaged. The IRGC also asserted that a U.S. air-defense system and radar installation in Muharraq, Bahrain, had been destroyed, while a U.S. Patriot missile-defense system in Riffa was also targeted.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Army announced that the 19th phase of its “Sa’eqeh” (Thunderbolt) operation struck administrative buildings and direction-finding antennas at Camp Arifjan, a helicopter parking area at Camp Adairi, and facilities housing U.S. personnel at Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait using explosive drones.
The IRGC also declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “for as long as U.S. aggression continues,” adding that oil, natural gas, and fertilizer exports from the region would remain suspended.