KUWAIT CITY/MANAMA/TEHRAN/WASHINGTON, 13 July (H.S.): Iran has launched attacks on a US military base in Kuwait, further escalating the confrontation between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz and deepening tensions across West Asia. Earlier in the day, Iran also targeted a US military installation in Bahrain following fresh American strikes on Iranian territory, prompting air raid sirens in the Gulf kingdom.
According to reports by CNN, Al Jazeera, IRNA and Fars News Agency, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its Aerospace Force targeted infrastructure at the US military base in Kuwait. The IRGC claimed that fuel storage tanks and Patriot air defence systems at Ali Al Salem Air Base were completely destroyed. It also said it struck Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base, located about 30 miles away, damaging its FPS radar system. Kuwait's military has not yet confirmed any of these claims.
Bahrain's Ministry of Interior issued a statement on X on Sunday morning (local time), urging citizens and residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe location. The IRGC later announced on Telegram that it had begun missile and drone attacks on US military facilities in countries allied with Washington, describing the operation as retaliation for strikes on central and southern Iran.
The IRGC further claimed responsibility for attacks on US military installations in Bahrain, stating that it targeted helicopter maintenance and repair facilities, hangars housing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, and the military's drone command and control centre at Sheikh Isa Air Base. Bahrain's Interior Ministry said there were no immediate reports of damage.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that its latest operation against Iran involved precision strikes on dozens of military targets across multiple locations. CENTCOM said the US military employed fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones and one-way attack sea drones together for the first time in the campaign. The strikes targeted Iran's air defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and fast attack boats. CENTCOM added that US forces had struck nearly 140 Iranian military sites a day earlier. In response, Tehran launched retaliatory attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Jordan.
Powerful explosions were also reported in the Iranian port cities of Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Jask, as well as on Qeshm Island. US President Donald Trump maintained that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, while Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority said maritime transit would not be permitted until stability and peace are restored. The latest weekend escalation has significantly heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
A US military spokesperson said the latest American strikes were carried out after the IRGC allegedly attacked another commercial vessel in the strategic waterway. Several US allies, including Kuwait, Oman, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, also reported coming under Iranian attacks during the weekend. Washington has accused the IRGC of continuing to fire on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said US forces intercepted and destroyed one Iranian cruise missile and one one-way attack drone. He said the objective of the American operation was to degrade Iran's military capabilities. Meanwhile, Khuzestan Deputy Governor Valiollah Hayati said one person was killed and four others injured after a missile struck an irrigation pumping station on farmland in Mahshahr early Sunday morning.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
