Iran’s Armed Forces have launched a coordinated wave of missile and drone strikes against US military positions in Kuwait and Jordan, delivering what the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) described as “a crushing blow” in response to overnight American attacks on Iran’s southern coastline and cities.
The retaliatory operations, executed Wednesday, mark the latest escalation in mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington, with Iranian military officials warning that the current reprisals represent only the initial phase of a broader campaign.
Precision Strikes on Strategic US Facilities
In its eighth wave of Operation Nasr (Victory) 2, the IRGC’s Navy and Aerospace Force conducted a combined missile-and-drone assault targeting the early-warning radar of the C-RAM defense system at Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Airbase, as well as what the Corps described as “a gathering point of criminal soldiers of the terrorist US army.”
The Iranian Army targeted US military radar and air defense systems in Kuwait and Bahrain with attack drones during the tenth phase of Operation Saeqeh.
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Simultaneously, Iran’s Army announced the ninth phase of its retaliatory Operation Saeqeh (Lightning), deploying loitering munitions against US military infrastructure at Jordan’s al-Azraq Airbase. According to army officials, the strike successfully hit the base’s fixed radar site, communications systems, and fuel depots—facilities described as vital to US military operations in West Asia.
“The al-Azraq base serves as a deployment site for missile defense systems and represents one of the most important strategic and command centers for US forces operating in the region,” the army’s statement emphasized.
Message to Regional Nations
In a direct appeal to the Kuwaiti people, the IRGC underscored that Washington was using their territory to conduct “unprovoked acts of aggression” against Iran. The Corps urged the nation to “rid your country of the presence of these aggressors and, by fulfilling your Islamic duty, preserve your historical honor and dignity.”
Vengeance for Fallen Soldiers
The army’s strikes were carried out in retaliation for enemy attacks on Iranian territory, including a devastating assault on the Bampur Army garrison in Iranshahr that claimed the lives of seven non-commissioned officers and soldiers. The military condemned what it termed “barbaric attacks” on military barracks, declaring that such acts “will never be erased from the pages of history.”
Army personnel, the statement stressed, “will not retreat in the slightest from the honorable duty of defending the Iranian nation and the Islamic homeland or avenging the blood of the beloved martyrs.”
Escalation Warning
IRGC spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi delivered a stark warning through social media, cautioning that the enemy should not anticipate prolonging the confrontation through attrition warfare.
“The enemy should not assume that it can sustain the current dynamics of the battlefield and turn the war into a war of attrition,” Mohebbi wrote on X. “Iran’s operations are currently focused on destroying the US’s offensive infrastructure in the region. The next phases will then begin.”
Air Defense Successes
In separate developments, Iran’s air defense units successfully intercepted and destroyed two hostile drones over southern Iran. A US LUCAS unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down over Bandar Abbas after being detected by the country’s integrated air defense network, while an MQ-9 drone was similarly neutralized over Andimeshk by an advanced IRGC Aerospace Force system.
Violations Despite Ceasefire Agreement
The escalating confrontation comes despite a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding signed last month between Washington and Tehran, with the first clause explicitly mandating a cessation of aggression on all fronts. US violations have persisted since April 7, when President Donald Trump announced a unilateral ceasefire following extensive American-Israeli military operations against the Islamic Republic.
Source: Press TV edited buy Al-manar English website
