US and Iran Exchange Retaliatory Air Strikes
Photo: Reuters.
The United States has launched a wave of simultaneous air strikes across various locations in Iran. Eight cities in the Khuzestan province were targeted, and powerful explosions were also heard in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. In retaliation, Tehran struck back at multiple US military bases across the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera.
Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that a US strike hit an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr, a city in Khuzestan province. Valiollah Hayati, the deputy governor for security and law enforcement, confirmed that one security guard was killed and four others were injured in the attack.
Speaking to the semi-official news agency ISNA, the official stated that US forces hit at least eight locations across Khuzestan. The strikes were carried out in phases between 1:35 AM and 2:20 AM local time. Officials are currently assessing the extent of the damage. However, he clarified that Ahvaz Airport was not hit.
The IRNA report added that two powerful explosions were also heard in Bandar Abbas, located in Iran's southern Hormozgan province.
Following the operation, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement confirming that dozens of "precision strikes" were executed on multiple targets inside Iran. CENTCOM noted that the operation aimed to degrade Iran's capability to target and disrupt vessels navigating through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to CENTCOM, the operation deployed fighter jets, naval ships, one-way attack aerial drones, and, for the first time, suicide maritime surface drones.
Meanwhile, Iran immediately launched retaliatory attacks on several US bases in the Middle East. Iran’s Nour News Agency reported that the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired missiles and launched drone attacks on hostile bases stationed across the region.
The IRGC confirmed targeting Jordan’s Prince Hassan Air Base with missiles and drones, claiming the strikes sparked massive fires in several fuel depots and ammunition storage facilities.
In its statement, the IRGC declared that this was their initial phase of retaliation against the US air strikes on Iran's coastal military strongholds.
In the second phase of this retaliatory operation, the IRGC claimed to have targeted several installations at Bahrain's Sheikh Isa Air Base. The strikes reportedly focused on a helicopter maintenance center, a hangar housing a P-8 aircraft, and a US military drone command-and-control center.
Bahrain's Ministry of Interior confirmed that its air defense systems were activated and sirens were sounding across the country. Additionally, the ministry urged citizens not to take to the streets or disrupt traffic flow.
Kuwait was also hit during the counter-offensive. In a statement, the IRGC claimed that fuel tanks and a Patriot air defense system at Kuwait's Ali Al-Salem Air Base, along with a strategic FPS radar system at the Ahmed Al-Jaber Air Base, were "completely destroyed."
The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army stated that their air defense forces were actively engaging "hostile targets" inside the country's airspace.
Citing an Iranian military official, the Nour News Agency confirmed that these retaliatory strikes were launched in direct response to the initial attacks carried out by the United States. (Source: Al Jazeera)
