Tehran, 22 March (H.S.):

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the 73rd wave of its military campaign “Operation True Promise‑4,” targeting Israel and US military positions in the region early on Sunday, 22 March 2026. The IRGC’s public relations department claims that missile and drone strikes into Israel’s interior areas, as well as at American air bases across the Gulf, have killed more than 200 people and left others wounded in the initial hours of the operation.

New wave called “Imam Ali”

State‑linked Mehr News Agency reported that the IRGC has named this 73rd wave of “true Promise‑4” the “Imam Ali” military operation. The Guard says its forces launched Fateh, Qadr and Emad‑series missiles along with attack drones at Israeli military installations and security centres in the occupied southern Palestinian territories, including the towns of Arad, Dimona, Eilat, Be’er Sheva and Kiryat Gat. Tehran asserts that the Israeli air‑defence shield collapsed under the barrage, allowing the projectiles to hit designated targets.

The IRGC statement also specifies that US air‑force bases in the region – Ali al‑Salem in Kuwait, Al‑Minhad and Al‑Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates – were struck in the same salvo. Iranian forces describe the strikes as precision hits on radar and command nodes, runways and support facilities, using long‑range guided missiles and loitering munitions.

According to the IRGC, well over 200 people were killed and several others injured in the opening hours of this wave alone, though independent media and Israeli authorities have not verified the figure. The claim comes amid the broader “Operation True Promise‑4”, which Tehran has vowed to continue until it dismantles what it calls “Zionist and American aggression” in West Asia.

Israel and the United States have previously downplayed the impact of Iranian‑launched strikes, asserting that most incoming missiles and drones are intercepted, while acknowledging that some projectiles have breached defences and caused damage.

The IRGC’s latest assertions, if even partially accurate, would mark one of the deadliest single phases of the ongoing conflict so far, and underscore the risk of an open‑ended escalation across the region.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar