Iran has launched two retaliatory attacks on US installations in Kuwait and Bahrain with ballistic missiles, warning that any further aggression will result in the full closure of the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas exports.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced that its Aerospace Force targeted Ali Al-Salem air base in Kuwait and the remaining key facilities of the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain with ballistic missiles, in direct retaliation for US drone strikes on IRGC communications towers on Qeshm Island and Sirik following a confrontation over unauthorised tanker movement in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a detailed statement, the IRGC reconstructed the full sequence of events leading to the strikes.
At 01:30 AM, four tankers attempted to exit the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with the IRGC Navy and in disregard of warnings. After IRGC Navy warnings were issued, one of the tankers was struck and stopped, while the remaining vessels turned back.
At 02:00 AM, US drones struck two IRGC telecommunications towers, one on Qeshm Island and one on Sirik.
In immediate retaliation, the IRGC Aerospace Force targeted Ali Al-Salem air base in Kuwait and the remaining significant facilities of the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
"If these acts of aggression are repeated, the response will not be limited," the statement said, adding, "You [the US-Israeli coalition] will be responsible for the consequences of the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to the export of your oil and gas."
