TEHRAN/WASHINGTON/AMMAN/KUWAIT CITY/MANAMA,02 September (H.S.):

Iran has targeted Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US strikes amid the escalating conflict over the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has warned that it will launch an even more aggressive assault against Iran. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that, as part of its retaliatory operation, it carried out ballistic missile strikes on Prince Hassan Air Base and a US Marine base in Jordan.

According to reports by Al Jazeera, Arab News, Gulf News and CBS News, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first message after attacks resumed between Washington and Tehran, said that this time Iran’s military would inflict such pain on the United States that it would never be forgotten.

Kuwait said its air defence systems were actively responding to drone attacks, while Bahrain said its air defence systems had successfully intercepted and destroyed drones approaching from Iran. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had carried out multiple strikes against Iranian targets on September 1. The strikes were conducted in response to attempts to attack commercial vessels and US military personnel.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported explosions in several southern parts of the country. According to the reports, powerful blasts were heard in Asaluyeh, Jiroft, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Konarak, Chabahar, Jask, Sirik and Lavan.

The Iranian Red Crescent said at least four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 civilians injured in an attack on a wedding hall in the city of Kuhestak in Sirik County. The Red Crescent shared the information on X. The Iranian government said the wedding hall was completely destroyed in the US strike. Sirik County is located along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media on Tuesday reported explosions in several cities along and east of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as at an airport in the southern province of Kerman.

Iran has been at war with the United States since February 28, when a coordinated US-Israeli military assault killed Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military officials. Iran subsequently launched attacks against US-allied countries in the Middle East. After several days of relative calm, the United States launched a major assault on Iran on Sunday. President Donald Trump has threatened to respond with overwhelming force to any retaliatory attack.

Defying Trump’s warning, Iran targeted US troops in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi warned on X that Washington would face severe punishment. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency later reported that the Iranian military had launched a military operation against US bases.

Significantly, Iran has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz. The United States continues to maintain a retaliatory blockade of Iranian ports.

Two attacks on commercial tankers have reportedly occurred around the Strait of Hormuz over the past 48 hours. Following one of the incidents, the vessel “Jazirat Umm Al Ghanam” stopped and anchored approximately one nautical mile northwest of the location of the incident.

The second incident involved UKMTO 124-26, a tanker that came under attack from three unidentified projectiles while attempting to exit the Strait, approximately 17 nautical miles east of Khasab, Oman.

The attacks on commercial tankers have come at a time when the US-Iran conflict appears to have entered a potentially more dangerous maritime phase. In response to Iranian threats, the US military has carried out fresh strikes on Iranian radar and air-defence systems, as well as other military infrastructure.

In Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing solidarity with Tehran over the US attacks on Iran. In a statement carried by the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency, the ministry said the American strikes would not weaken Iran’s resolve and that Tehran’s response was a legitimate right under international law.

The ministry accused the United States of pushing the region towards further escalation and said Washington and those supporting it would be responsible for the consequences. “They will have to pay the price,” it said.

Jordan said several parts of the country had come under attack from Iranian missiles. The Jordanian military said early Wednesday that it had “faced a missile attack originating from Iranian territory.”

The Arab country’s armed forces said they had detected 13 ballistic missiles, of which 10 were intercepted, while three fell in remote areas.

However, while Iranian state media claimed that US military personnel had been killed in the attack on Jordan, a US official said the claim was not true.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar