Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted US airbase in Kuwait

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early on Thursday that it targeted a US airbase in Kuwait in response to an American aerial strike near Bandar Abbas Airport in southern Iran. According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said the retaliatory strike came at 4:50 am (0120GMT), hours after what it described as a US assault on a point near the port city's airport using aerial projectiles. "This response is a serious warning so that the enemy knows that aggression will not go unanswered, and if repeated, our response will be more decisive," it said. There was no immediate response from the US military. Earlier in the day, a US official told Anadolu that US forces shot down four Iranian drones that posed a threat near the Strait of Hormuz and struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth drone. "These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The latest strikes came after US Central Command (CENTCOM) earlier this week confirmed a previous round of strikes on southern Iran targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats allegedly attempting to lay mines. Iran condemned those strikes as a "grave violation of the ceasefire." Earlier, commenting on the state of the negotiations to end the war on Iran, US President Donald Trump said he is "not satisfied with it, but we will be. Either that, or we'll have to just finish the job." Iran and US trade air strikes after Trump dismisses report of Hormuz deal The IRGC said on Thursday it targeted a US airbase after the US military carried out what a Washington official said were strikes targeting an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Donald Trump rejected a report he was close to a compromise deal with Tehran. The escalation in hostilities highlighted threats to the tenuous ceasefire between the US and Iran that took effect in early April, dampening hopes for a peace deal and sending oil prices surging again. The US official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about military operations, told Reuters the military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone. "These actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire," the official said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted a US base in response to what it described as an early morning US attack near Bandar Abbas airport, Tasnim news agency reported. The IRGC said they targeted the US airbase from which the attack on the control station near Bandar Abbas was launched. Kuwait - which hosts a large US base - said it was responding to missile and drone attacks without saying where the attacks were coming from. Israel, which has been fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, also reported sounding sirens regarding hostile aircraft activity in northern Israel. Oil prices, having fallen more than 5% on Wednesday, rebounded after reports of the escalation in hostilities. US crude futures gained more than 3%, while stocks fell and the dollar rose. US sanctions Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority The US Treasury Department sanctioned Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, accusing it of acting as an extortion arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by forcing commercial vessels to pay tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The department said in a statement on Wednesday that the body forces vessels to pay "illegitimate tolls" and submit "sensitive" information in exchange for safe passage through the strait, with funds funnelled directly to the IRGC. "The Iranian military's latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that (Operation) Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Treasury warned that any person or entity cooperating with the authority — including through toll payments made via fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments — may be exposed to US sanctions risk.

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