TEHRAN, Iran, July 18 (ANI): Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a warning to countries hosting American troops, saying they should prepare for a “corresponding response” as regional tensions continue to escalate, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
The IRGC called on those countries to “activate their civil defence units to protect their citizens and move them away from potential military targets,” accusing regional governments of allowing their territories to be used as launchpads for attacks against Iran.
As part of what it described as its initial response, the IRGC claimed its ground forces used drones and missiles to strike a U.S. military logistics center at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, alleging that the attack caused casualties among personnel stationed at the facility.
The group also claimed it launched an attack on the U.S. Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, asserting that the operation disabled radar systems and destroyed a weapons maintenance hangar and a drone facility.
The claims have not been independently verified.
The latest developments follow a sharp escalation in hostilities as the United States and Iran exchanged another wave of military strikes Saturday. Fighting around the strategic Strait of Hormuz has intensified, with no immediate resolution in sight following the collapse of a temporary ceasefire.
The conflict has increasingly centered on control of the vital shipping route, significantly disrupting maritime traffic and contributing to a sharp increase in global oil prices. The latest military exchanges included U.S. strikes on Iranian military positions and retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks across the Gulf region.
Amid the widening conflict, Kuwait reported intercepting incoming Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday. Bahrain also confirmed that air raid sirens were activated as the violence spread across the region.
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces completed a seventh consecutive night of military operations late Friday aimed at degrading Iranian military capabilities.
In a statement released early Saturday, CENTCOM said the strikes targeted “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”
Following the attacks, Iranian state television reported significant damage to transportation infrastructure in Bandar Khamir, in the southern province of Hormozgan along the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes on major highways and railway infrastructure appeared aimed at isolating the port city of Bandar Abbas from key logistical routes leading to central Iran and Tehran.
Iran’s Energy Ministry also acknowledged attacks on power infrastructure for the first time on Friday. The ministry urged residents in the heatwave-affected southern provinces to conserve electricity but did not disclose the specific facilities that were struck.
In a separate overnight operation Friday, a monitoring facility at Iran’s Chabahar Port on the Gulf of Oman was destroyed. The incident was confirmed by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and later by the U.S. military.
Iranian officials said the structure was used solely to monitor commercial shipping. However, CENTCOM said it was part of an IRGC maritime surveillance network used to “track and target” commercial vessels transiting the shipping corridor.
Iranian state media also reported additional explosions Friday evening in central and southern parts of the country, including near Ahvaz, Lar, Yazd, and Sirik.
The conflict continues to disrupt maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. According to MarineTraffic.com, commercial vessel crossings fell to an eight-vessel, three-week low on Thursday, helping push oil prices above $86 per barrel on Friday.
In response to the U.S. offensive, Iranian forces launched several retaliatory strikes across the Gulf on Friday.
Qatar’s Interior Ministry warned residents to seek shelter during incoming missile attacks and confirmed that falling shrapnel injured a child.
In Kuwait, officials said the strikes severely damaged a combined power generation and water desalination facility. A Defense Ministry spokesperson also said separate drone attacks on military bases injured several service members.
The conflict expanded further as the Jordanian military confirmed intercepting three incoming projectiles Friday morning.
Meanwhile, explosions were reported in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, including around Irbil and Sulaymaniyah, where local air defense systems engaged incoming targets.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center also reported that a commercial tanker transiting an Oman-controlled shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz came under attack Friday. The agency said the vessel sustained minor damage, and no crew members were injured.
The attacks on maritime traffic underscore the broader dispute over the strategic waterway. Tehran continues to argue that the passage should fall under its jurisdiction and has demanded that transiting vessels pay specific levies, while the international community recognizes the Strait of Hormuz as an international waterway.
Speaking to the American public Thursday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump defended the military campaign, saying, “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly.” (ANI)
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