TEHRAN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday it had carried out missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
In a statement published by its official outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its Aerospace Division attacked the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, in retaliation for the United States' overnight attack on an IRGC communications tower on Iran's southern Qeshm Island.
The IRGC also said its navy fired missiles at a vessel named Panaya, which it described as affiliated with the United States and Israel, in response to a U.S. strike on an Iranian oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz that damaged the vessel's engine room.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on social media platform X that U.S. forces on Tuesday disabled the Botswana-flagged unladen oil tanker, M/T Lexi, as it sailed through international waters toward Iran's Kharg Island.
In another post, CENTCOM said U.S. forces on Tuesday conducted "self-defense" strikes on Qeshm Island in response to attempted Iranian attacks across the Middle East.
Iran tightened its grip on the strait beginning Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint strikes on Iranian territory.
The United States has also imposed a naval blockade on the strait, preventing ships traveling to and from Iranian ports from transiting the waterway.
The developments came as Iran and the United States have, over the past weeks, reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for peace through Pakistan's mediation, and are working to finalize a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. ■
