Iran Hits US Bases Across Middle East in Retaliation as Hormuz Tensions Peak

US bases in Syria, Kuwait and other countries attacked

US airstrikes on Iranian territory continue for a sixth straight day

Iran launched a broad retaliatory assault on US bases and surveillance assets across the Middle East after American airstrikes on Iranian territory continued for a sixth day. As clashes around the Strait of Hormuz intensified, civilian casualties also mounted.

Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, and the regular military said on July 17 they attacked US facilities in at least six countries — Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Iraq — with missiles and drones.

The IRGC said it carried out a surprise strike on a US Special Operations Command center at Al-Tanf in eastern Syria, calling the attack revenge for Iranian soldiers killed in US strikes.

Iran said the assault caused multiple US casualties and destroyed special operations helicopters as well as radar systems. The US military has not officially confirmed those claims.

The attacks also widened to maritime and aerial surveillance assets across the region. The IRGC said it destroyed two US surveillance radar sites on Oman’s coast and struck air-defense radar systems and an ammunition depot at a US base in Kuwait.

Iran’s regular military also said it launched drone attacks on US facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. Kuwaiti authorities confirmed they were responding to missile and drone attacks.

The retaliation came after the US military bombed Iranian military and logistics infrastructure for six consecutive days. US Central Command said it destroyed the airport and train station in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, along with five bridges in Hormozgan province, in what it described as an effort to cripple Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.

The Associated Press reported that the bridge and rail strikes appeared aimed at isolating Bandar Abbas, one of Iran’s main ports, and cutting a key route linking central Iran to the capital, Tehran. AP added that the US could further expand its air campaign to disrupt both Iranian military supplies and civilian logistics.

The airstrikes have also reached areas near civilian facilities. Explosions were reported in Bushehr, home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant.

Casualties are continuing to rise. Iran’s Health Ministry said renewed US airstrikes since June 22, when Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war, had killed 38 people and injured more than 400. The dead included three women and one teenager.

An additional airstrike on Hormozgan province the previous night killed eight people and injured 19. In Qatar, a child was wounded by debris while authorities responded to Iranian missile attacks.

In Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, eight Iranian Kurdish rebels were killed in an attack believed to have been carried out by Iran. With both sides continuing to fight over control of the Strait of Hormuz, tensions across the Middle East are rising further.

Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com