Tehran. Iran has claimed retaliation after US air strikes in Iran’s southern provinces. Iran said it has attacked US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait with drones and missiles. Along with this, Iran also claimed that its air defense system has shot down an American MQ-9 drone over Bushehr province. According to Iran’s state media, the Iranian military said that early on Wednesday, military drones targeted the gathering of US military forces present at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.
The Iranian military statement said, ‘Following the attack by the American enemy on the southern regions of the country, our military’s drones attacked the positions of American forces present at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.’ Earlier, Iran’s IRGC claimed that it targeted 85 important US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait in a joint operation by naval and aerospace forces. The IRGC said its missile and drone strikes targeted Bahrain’s Salman Port, US Fifth Fleet bases stationed there and Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base.
An IRGC spokesman claimed that Iran’s advanced air defense system shot down an American MQ-9 drone flying over the Khormuz region of Bushehr province, following air strikes by the US military early on Wednesday. The spokesperson said, ‘Following the US military’s air offensive action, our advanced air defense system targeted and downed the MQ-9 drone.’ However, these claims could not be independently verified.
Iran’s retaliation came at a time when the US Army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Tuesday that it had carried out attacks with precision weapons on more than 80 military targets inside Iran on July 7. According to US defense officials, the main objective of these attacks was to weaken Iran’s maritime strike capability. During the operation, command and control centers, air defense systems, coastal radars, anti-ship missile sites and more than 60 small boats of the IRGC were targeted.
According to CENTCOM, the reason for the US military action was Iran’s attacks on three commercial oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. America says that the purpose of this major military operation was to destroy Iran’s ability through which it was obstructing international maritime trade and movement of ships. The ships mentioned by the US include Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Reqaiyat, Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedayan and Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity.
Let us tell you that after a fierce military confrontation between the two countries in late June, the conflict had temporarily stopped under an interim agreement (MoU). But the latest US attacks and subsequent Iranian retaliatory military claims have once again increased tensions across West Asia. At present, America has not given any official response to these latest claims of Iran. The increasing conflict between the two countries has again intensified the fears of a major military conflict in the region.
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