Iran said on Thursday that it attacked U.S. facilities and troops in Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq, according to statements released by Iranian state media. So far, the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and Jordanian authorities have not commented on those claims.
State media reported that the Iranian military said it “attacked U.S. military communications systems and fuel depots” at the Azraq base in Jordan, where Tehran says U.S. forces operate.
In a separate statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck a C-RAM early-warning radar at Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait and a U.S. troop concentration area in Umm Qasr, Iraq, in a combined missile-and-drone operation. The IRGC also urged the Kuwaiti public to oppose the U.S. military presence, claiming that “U.S. operations against Iran were being conducted from Kuwaiti territory.”
The IRGC stated the offensive was in response to recent U.S. strikes on southern Iran and said naval and aerospace forces took part as part of the eighth wave of “Operation Nasr 2.”
Hours earlier, U.S. forces completed a fifth wave of strikes against Iran, CENTCOM confirmed. The U.S. command said its forces hit “Iranian command centers, air defense positions, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities” to reduce the regime’s ability to “threaten innocent mariners operating commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
The command added: “CENTCOM used precision munitions to strike targets in multiple locations, including Bandar Abbas.”
The new offensive came after Washington confirmed it had reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports and coasts and announced the diversion of two commercial vessels that, the Pentagon said, attempted to evade U.S.-imposed restrictions.
At the same time, Donald Trump intensified his rhetoric toward Tehran and warned the military campaign could expand in coming days if the Iranian regime does not agree to resume negotiations. “Next week the situation will be very bad for them,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
Despite the military escalation, diplomatic channels remain open. However, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and the regime’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the memorandum signed with Washington lost validity after the United States reinstated the naval blockade.
“A memorandum of understanding only makes sense when its clauses are valid and are upheld. If Iran gains no benefit from the agreement, we have no reason to respect it,” he said.
The main focus of the confrontation remains the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic corridor for global oil and gas trade. Iran again restricted transit through the strait after accusing the United States of failing to honor agreed commitments, while Washington responded with new military operations and the reinstatement of the naval blockade on Iranian ports and coasts.
(With information from REUTERS)