US strikes Iranian military sites again, Tehran retaliates against Gulf bases
US forces have struck Iranian military targets for a third consecutive day, killing both civilians and military personnel, while Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes on US bases in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Bahrain.
US armed forces carried out new strikes overnight into Wednesday, September 2, against facilities belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the targets included air defense positions, radar systems, naval infrastructure, mine-laying equipment and communications facilities.
CENTCOM said the strikes were a response to IRGC attempts to attack civilian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to target American service members. More than 50,000 US troops are currently operating in the Middle East, the command noted. Citing a source, Axios reported that roughly 100 targets in Iran were struck the previous night.
Reports of casualties
Iran's SNN news agency reported that four IRGC personnel, reportedly members of the country's Aerospace Force, were killed in western Iran. The Mehr news agency reported that three members of a local paramilitary militia were killed in strikes on Lavan Island.
Following a new wave of US strikes, Iran reported seven more deaths in Khuzestan and Hormozgan provinces, according to dpa. In Khuzestan, eight people were wounded in missile strikes near the cities of Ahvaz and Aghajari, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported, citing the province's deputy governor. Iranian media had earlier reported four deaths at a wedding celebration in the southeastern province of Hormozgan, located on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran strikes back at US bases
After the US strikes, Iran's military hit American military facilities in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Bahrain on September 2, the IRGC said on Telegram. According to the IRGC, drone and missile strikes hit a command headquarters and a commander's residence at an air base in Kuwait, a drone hangar and launch sites, and destroyed several drones.
Kuwait's armed forces earlier said their air defenses were repelling a drone and missile attack. Local authorities said a fire broke out in a residential building in Kuwait City following the drone raid; emergency services contained the blaze and there were no casualties among residents.
On the same day, two tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz struck mines laid in the waterway, Press TV reported, citing an IRGC statement. The mine explosions caused fires aboard the vessels and left them without control. According to the report, the tankers' crews had been following US instructions and were sailing their own chosen route rather than the one designated by Iran.
