OPERATION PUNISHMENT OF THE AGGRESSOR
‘Heavier, Broader, More Devastating’: Iran Unleashes Hell on U.S. Forces
TEHRAN – Iran’s Armed Forces have launched a series of combined retaliatory operations featuring missile and drone strikes targeting American military bases and interests across West Asia, following unprovoked U.S. aggression that martyred civilians at a wedding ceremony in southern Iran.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the commencement of operations on Tuesday, with subsequent waves of attacks continuing into Wednesday against U.S. positions in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
The IRGC’s Aerospace Force carried out a heavy ballistic-missile strike against the U.S. Marine barracks known as Camp Titiin in Jordan, located on the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba. “The attack killed a large number of U.S. personnel and destroyed several key facilities and the enemy’s attack helicopters,” the IRGC said.
A second ballistic-missile strike targeted hangars housing long-range RQ-4 and MQ-9 unmanned aircraft at the Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan. “A number of drones were destroyed, and several pilots and flight technical crew members were killed. Several of their technical infrastructure facilities were also set ablaze,” the IRGC said.
The IRGC called on Jordan to stop allowing its soil to be used as a launch pad for such atrocities.
In Kuwait, the IRGC struck the command compound and living quarters of the U.S. commander at Ali Al-Salem Air Base. The attack killed a number of U.S. personnel and was followed by strikes on a drone hangar and the ramp used to deploy drones involved in attacks against Iran. “Several drones were destroyed and the hangar was set ablaze,” the IRGC said.
Addressing the Kuwaiti people, the IRGC said: “You know well about our affection and affinity with you. What pains and concerns us is the occupation of Islamic lands by the child-killing and terrorist U.S. military.”
The IRGC expressed hope for “the destruction of U.S. domination and the Zionist regime and the freedom and independence of the noble people of Kuwait from the occupying aggressors.”
In Iraq, combined missile-and-drone strikes targeted U.S. bases in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. The operations “destroyed a maintenance facility and warehouses containing technical equipment belonging to the terrorist U.S. military, and destroyed the guidance system of a U.S. surveillance balloon at the base.” The IRGC Ground Forces also “set fire to the fuel storage tanks at the base and killed a number of the aggressors.”
Separately, Iran’s Army announced a new wave of drone attacks on U.S. positions at the Al Dhafra and Al Minhad bases in the UAE and the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.
The Army said dozens of explosive drones targeted U.S. radar systems and troop positions at the two UAE bases, while Arash drones struck radar facilities and U.S. troop gathering points at Sheikh Isa Air Base.
The Army described the operations as “a forceful and extensive response to the enemy’s acts of aggression,” saying Iranian servicemen “will exact a harsh and regret-inducing revenge on the aggressors.”
Sheikh Isa Air Base is one of the most important and sensitive U.S. bases in the region, functioning as a major center for the maintenance and repair of helicopters and drone components, and a reconnaissance aircraft hub.
According to the IRGC, the first stage of the reprisal saw Iran’s new-generation aerospace defense system shoot down the 50th advanced MQ-9 drone belonging to the American aggressor.
The IRGC announced that two oil tankers had been stopped after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, warning shipping companies against following U.S. instructions and using unauthorized routes.
“Two oil tankers that had been deceived by the U.S. military were stopped after hitting mines and exploding, and are now burning,” the IRGC said. The statement noted that the IRGC Navy had previously warned vessels about the dangers of passing through mined areas.
“Additional punishments have been envisaged for shipping companies that, instead of following legal routes, are deceived by the Americans, and these measures will soon be implemented,” the IRGC warned.
The IRGC emphasized that such attacks would not weaken Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian people would not be intimidated by U.S. acts of brutality.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the Islamic Republic would respond to continued American aggression with “heavier, broader, and more devastating” retaliation.
“These offensive operations against the Americans will continue as a lesson for them until they come to regret their acts of aggression,” Zolfaqari said. He warned that any country that cooperates with the aggressor must be prepared to bear the dangerous consequences.
Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, the IRGC’s deputy for political affairs, directly addressed regional countries hosting U.S. forces.
“It would be better for you to expel the Americans from your countries and take back the bases. Otherwise, the Iranian Armed Forces have demonstrated that any aggression against Iran launched from any point in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, or any other country will be met with decisive and crushing responses,” he said.
The latest U.S. attacks are part of a broader campaign of aggression that began on February 28, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched large-scale strikes on Iranian territory. Iran’s Armed Forces responded with daily waves of missiles and drones targeting U.S. and Israeli assets across the region, and closed the Strait of Hormuz to U.S. and allied vessels.
On June 17, Iran and the U.S. signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in an effort to end the wars across all fronts. However, in recent weeks, in violation of the MoU, the U.S. has continued its naval blockade of Iran and struck multiple locations in southern Iran, prompting Tehran to target U.S. military facilities across the region and close the strategic waterway again.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Major General Mohsen Rezaei warned the United States that its desperate attempts to salvage the ongoing imposed war would fail and that a newly adopted Iranian strategy would dismantle its regional presence.
“With this desperate flailing, not only will you fail to climb out of the depths of the hell you have created for yourselves, but you will soon witness how Iran’s new strategy in the battlefield, diplomacy, and countering the economic blockade will shatter your foundations,” General Rezaei said in a statement on X.