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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims it destroyed a U.S. Patriot air defense system, an MQ-9 drone hangar and a large military equipment warehouse at Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base in drone attacks, as the U.S. military completed its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran and deployed a B-1 bomber for the first time since fighting resumed.
The exchange marks a widening of the war across the Gulf, with Iran striking U.S. assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, Washington threatening Tehran's bridges and power plants, and the Houthis opening what U.S. officials fear is a new Iranian-backed front in the Red Sea.
In a statement carried by Iran's Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said its forces attacked and destroyed a large military equipment warehouse, a Patriot air defense system and an MQ-9 drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base "in punishment of the child-killing American army and its interference in the Strait of Hormuz."
The IRGC also said it attacked U.S. troop accommodations and two helicopter hangars at Udairi Camp, claiming it killed and wounded a number of U.S. forces and inflicted heavy damage on several helicopters and drones. It stated that it struck a telecommunications tower in response to U.S. attacks on communications towers in Iran.
The claims could not be independently verified.
In an unusual direct message to "the honorable and noble people of Kuwait," the IRGC rejected accusations that its strikes violate host countries' sovereignty, arguing that U.S. bases operate outside local control: "American law rules there, not your law. Not only your military, but even your defense minister also has no right to enter without the permission of the American military police. So it is America that has violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty, and not us. We are attacking lands occupied by the American army."
The statement invoked what it said were 168 schoolchildren killed in Minab on the war's first day, calling it Iran's "legal, religious and logical right" to target "the aggressor against our country and the killer of our children from wherever it attacks."
Separately, Iran's regular army announced that the 23rd phase of its Operation Saeqa (Thunderbolt) targeted U.S. ammunition and logistics depots at Al-Dhafra base, fuel storage at Ali Al Salem, and an ammunition depot at Kuwait's Camp Arifjan with "high-volume" attack drone strikes, according to Tasnim.
Iran also struck vital water desalination and energy plants in Kuwait earlier this week.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it completed another round of strikes against Iran at 10:30 p.m. ET on July 22, marking "the 12th consecutive night" of operations.
"U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets, including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets. The strikes further degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels," CENTCOM said.
American forces have targeted dozens of Iranian military sites on land this month while resuming a blockade against Iran at sea, the command said, having redirected nine commercial vessels and disabled one to prevent ships from entering or departing Iranian ports. More than 50,000 U.S. service members are operating across the Middle East and remain "highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready," it added.
The U.S. used a B-1 long-range bomber Tuesday to strike IRGC targets in Iran for the first time since fighting resumed 12 days ago, U.S. officials told Axios, marking a significant escalation. The aircraft can carry two dozen 2,000-pound bombs or dozens of cruise missiles at supersonic speeds at low altitude.
The bomber launched from an airbase in the U.K. and was spotted on plane-tracking websites, though CENTCOM did not announce the mission in its Tuesday statement, Axios reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump is still considering a return to major combat operations against Iran, which U.S. and Israeli officials say could happen within days.
On Wednesday, Trump threatened to bomb bridges and power plants, including in Tehran, if Iran attacks more ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by threatening infrastructure in Gulf countries allied with Washington.
Some U.S. defense officials assess that Iran's military capability around the strait "is almost nonexistent," while others say it can still attack ships in the area.
The exchange of fire has continued despite a Pakistan-brokered framework agreement signed by the U.S. and Iran in June to end the war that began in February and pave the way for a lasting peace deal.
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