Iran Strikes 85 US Military Facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in Retaliation

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Wednesday that its naval and air forces had attacked 85 major US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. The operation was described as retaliation for previous US strikes. “As an initial response to this aggression, the IRGC Navy and Air Force conducted a combined missile and drone operation, striking 85 major US military facilities in both countries, while also shooting down an MQ-9 drone,” the IRGC said in a statement broadcast by state television. The IRGC stated that the strikes hit the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain and the Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait. It said the operation was an “initial response” to what it called ceasefire violations and attacks by the US. The strikes were in retaliation for US airstrikes on Iranian coastal bases and non-military stations in Hormozgan and Mahshahr. The IRGC also linked the US attacks to the funeral procession of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claiming Washington sought to overshadow the historic event. The Iranian strikes followed an announcement by the US military that it had completed an operation targeting Iranian air defences, missile launch sites, command networks, and IRGC vessels. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces struck more than 80 Iranian-linked targets in what it described as a “devastating strike on Iran to have a heavy impact”. CENTCOM stated the operation was a direct response to recent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten international shipping in the strategic waterway.