U.S. forces on Tuesday launched fresh strikes on targets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran, marking a renewed escalation in hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
If Iran "retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level," U.S. President Donald Trump warned in a post on Truth Social, describing the new strikes near the Strait of Hormuz as "large and powerful."
"But it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!" Trump threatened in the post.
Trump's remarks came shortly after the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced fresh strikes on IRGC targets at 12:00 Eastern Time (1600 GMT).
According to the CENTCOM, U.S. forces struck IRGC targets including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.
The strikes were after recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against the U.S. service members, said the CENTCOM.
According to the CENTCOM, more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tuesday night it has started strikes against U.S. bases and assets in the region in retaliation for U.S. attacks against southern Iranian provinces earlier in the day, which killed at least five and wounded over 50 others.
In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its "regret-inducing response against the aggressors" have begun, noting its air defense had shot down a "hostile" U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Its aerospace forces also launched ballistic missile and drone strikes on Camp Titin in Jordan and Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, reportedly killing "a large number of" U.S. troops and destroying several key facilities and combat helicopters.
The IRGC said the attacks are in response to the United States bombing a number of civilian places in Iran's southern coasts "out of desperation" and in retaliation for the U.S. "criminal" and deadly attack on a wedding ceremony in Hormozgan province.
Explosions were heard Tuesday in the Iranian port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, and on Qeshm Island, according to reports. The IRGC stated early Wednesday local time that at least two people were killed and 20 others were injured on Tuesday night in a U.S. strike targeting a wedding ceremony in Iran's southern Sirik County in Hormozgan province.
U.S. launches fresh strikes on Iran as Trump warns of more attacks
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Tuesday night it has started strikes against U.S. bases and assets in the region in retaliation for U.S. attacks against southern Iranian provinces earlier in the day, which killed at least five and wounded over 50 others.
In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its "regret-inducing response against the aggressors" have begun, noting its air defense had shot down a "hostile" U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Its aerospace forces also launched ballistic missile and drone strikes on Camp Titin in Jordan and Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, reportedly killing "a large number of" U.S. troops and destroying several key facilities and combat helicopters.
It stressed that the U.S. strikes will only protract the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and make the Iranian armed forces more determined to "suppress the foreign forces interfering in the waterway."
The IRGC said the attacks began after the United States bombed a number of civilian places in Iran's southern coasts "out of desperation" and in retaliation for the U.S. "criminal" and deadly attack on a wedding ceremony in Hormozgan province.
The Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) said later that the country's air defense systems on Tuesday evening intercepted and destroyed 10 of 13 ballistic missiles that entered the country's airspace from Iran in the past hours.
Three other missiles fell in remote areas away from population centers, with no casualties or loss of life reported, according to a JAF statement.
Early on Wednesday, Kuwait's military said that its air defense systems were responding to attacks involving hostile drones and missiles, which it attributed to "Iranian aggression."
Local sources said later that explosions were heard near multiple U.S. bases across the country.
The semi-official Fars news agency cited Ahmad Nafisi, Hormozgan's deputy governor for political and security affairs, as saying that at least five people, including a four-year-old child and a woman, were killed and over 50 others wounded in the U.S. attack targeting the wedding ceremony in Sirik county.
Multiple explosions were heard Tuesday evening in several southern Iranian provinces as U.S. Central Command, in a post on social media platform X, announced the start of strikes against IRGC targets.
The explosions were heard in the counties of Sirik, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Jask in Hormozgan, Konarak and Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Jiroft in Kerman province, and Asaluyeh in Bushehr province, Iranian media reported.
Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement that in response to the U.S. "air aggression," the Iranian armed forces will deal "crushing and shattering" blows to the United States.
Iran's IRGC says it has began retaliation for U.S. lethal strikes
