TEHRAN, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian armed forces announced on Saturday that they had hit U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in waves of retaliatory missile and drone attacks launched earlier in the day.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) pointed to the recent U.S. "destructive" attacks against Iranian civilian infrastructure, which resulted in civilian casualties, and warned countries in West Asia hosting U.S. military bases that they would face retaliation.
The IRGC said Saturday that its ground forces targeted the U.S. military support center at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, killing several U.S. personnel. It also targeted the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait with drones, destroying a radar, a weapons depot and a hangar of drones.
The IRGC added that its naval forces on Saturday struck a U.S. Navy fuel support pier at Al Ahmadi port and a signal and communications center in Kuwait.
In a separate statement, Iran's army said that it has also hit U.S. headquarters buildings and ammunition depots at Ali Al Salem Air Base, as well as an ammunition depot at Al-Adiri Camp, and several bridges in Kuwait.
In Bahrain, the IRGC said Saturday that it targeted a combat aircraft site at Shaikh Isa Air Base and destroyed a U.S. data center, and struck an aircraft hangar, fuel storage facilities and several bridges.
The IRGC also targeted U.S. fuel depots at the al-Azraq base in Jordan, adding that its naval forces on Friday fired cruise missiles at a "hostile" U.S. vessel north of the Indian Ocean, forcing it to retreat.
In a statement released early Saturday, the IRGC said two oil tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz via the mined southern route suffered explosions and caught fire, adding they had been misled by U.S. intelligence agencies.
The IRGC said that the strait remained closed and warned that oil, gas and chemical fertilizer exports would not resume while U.S. attacks continued.
The U.S. Central Command said earlier that its forces had carried out strikes against Iran during the preceding hours, hitting surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage facilities, and maritime capabilities.
The U.S. military has launched several waves of strikes against Iran's southern provinces over the past few days, claiming that the attacks are in response to the Iranian armed forces' targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and aimed at "degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping."
Iran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. military bases and facilities in the region. ■
