Iran says IRGC and Army struck US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain

WASHINGTON, United States — TEHRAN — Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Army said Thursday they carried out strikes against US military targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, claiming to have hit 18 American military sites across the three facilities. The IRGC said its forces struck the Ali al-Salem and Ahmed al-Jaber air bases in Kuwait, as well as the Sheikh Isa base in Bahrain. It described the operation as a response to US operations against southern regions of Iran. In a separate statement, the Iranian Army said it targeted the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with multiple types of unmanned aerial vehicles, focusing on communication antennas belonging to the fleet and radar facilities of Patriot air defense systems. The Army said it acted jointly with other armed forces and was prepared for further operations. The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and follows Iran's declared decision to close the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. No official statement had been issued by US, Kuwaiti or Bahraini authorities on the strikes, and details on the outcome and any air defense response were not immediately available.