Iran Launches Retaliatory Strikes on U.S. Military Bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked U.S. military facilities across the Middle East in response to American strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, following the downing of a U.S. Army helicopter.
Military Escalation Intensifies
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed attacks on U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian ports and islands in the Strait of Hormuz, launching drone attacks on the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, as well as a long-range missile strike on an airbase in Azraq, Jordan.
Scope of Iranian Response
The IRGC said it attacked 21 U.S. targets and destroyed four of them, including an F-35 fighter jet hangar at the base in Jordan. In Jordan, the military said it intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards Azraq, adding that the operation "resulted in the fall of shrapnel without any human injuries or material damage". The attacks prompted air raid alarms in Bahrain and Kuwait, with the Kuwaiti military saying it was intercepting "hostile aerial targets" in the country's airspace.
Context and Triggers
The U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) has said it carried out "self-defence strikes" against Iran in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter by Iranian forces over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The two pilots whose Apache went down were rescued safely by drone boat, the U.S. military said — a first for American forces.
Regional Implications
This new round of strikes came a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire in their most serious escalation since a ceasefire took effect in April, with the war beginning with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, and progress towards a peace deal remaining slow, complicated further by Israel's intensifying campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.