The United States and Iran exchanged military claims Tuesday after Tehran said it launched missile and drone attacks on US-linked targets in the region, while Washington said the attacks failed and that American forces struck an Iranian facility on Qeshm Island in self-defence.
The flare-up added fresh pressure to an already fragile regional ceasefire and raised alarm across Gulf states, including Bahrain and Kuwait.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its Aerospace Force attacked the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain using missiles and drones.
Iranian media reported that the IRGC also claimed to have targeted an airbase and helicopters in an unnamed regional country.
The Guard said the strikes were launched in response to what it described as a US attack on a communications tower south of Qeshm Island.
US says Iranian attacks failed
US Central Command rejected Iran’s claims of successful strikes, saying all Iranian attacks on American forces had failed.
CENTCOM said on X that the Iranian claims were “false” and added that US forces remained “vigilant and ready to defend against unwarranted Iranian aggression.”
The command also posted a graphic marked “Fact Check,” stating that all attacks targeting US forces had failed.
No US personnel were reported injured, according to US military statements.
CENTCOM said it conducted self-defence strikes on Qeshm Island “in response to attempted attacks by Iran.”
According to the US military, the strikes targeted an Iranian military ground control station on the island, which sits near the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement came shortly after Iranian media reported sounds of explosions in the Qeshm Island area.
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CENTCOM said Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbours, but all failed to hit their intended targets. The US military said missiles fired toward Bahrain and Kuwait either broke apart en route or were shot down by air defence systems.
According to CENTCOM, all missiles directed at Bahrain and Kuwait failed before reaching their targets.
Kuwait reports interceptions
Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA reported Tuesday local time that Kuwaiti air defences were intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks.
Quoting the country’s army, KUNA said the threats were being dealt with, though it did not identify where they originated. KUNA cited the army’s General Staff as saying any explosions heard by the public were caused by interceptions.
Authorities urged citizens and residents to follow safety instructions and avoid approaching debris or unidentified objects.
Bahrain sounds warning siren
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said a warning siren had been sounded amid the regional missile threat. The ministry urged citizens and residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place.
Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, making it a central location in the latest exchange of claims between Iran and the United States.
IRGC links strikes to tanker and Qeshm incidents
The IRGC said its attacks were retaliation for recent US military actions near the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Guard, US forces struck an Iranian oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz with an airborne projectile, damaging the vessel’s engine room.
In response, the IRGC Navy said it targeted a vessel it identified as Panaya with missiles, describing it as linked to the “US-linked enemy.”
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The IRGC said the United States then carried out another attack, targeting a telecommunications tower on the southern part of Qeshm Island with airborne projectiles.
In response to that second incident, the IRGC said its Aerospace Force struck the US Fifth Fleet headquarters, a US airbase and a helicopter base in a regional country using missiles and drones.
Iran warns US over Strait of Hormuz security
The IRGC said it had previously warned that any repeated aggression would trigger a “different and heavier response.”
“These responses should serve as a lesson,” the IRGC said in its statement, according to Iranian media. The Guard also warned that “disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will exact a heavy price from the aggressor American military.”
In another statement carried by local media, the IRGC said: “Disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the US military.”
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The latest attacks come as Gulf countries, including Kuwait, have come under missile and drone attacks during the US-Israel war on Iran. Tensions have intensified amid continuing US naval operations in the Arabian Gulf and reported Iranian responses during a fragile ceasefire.
Details about debris from the latest interceptions were not immediately specified in CENTCOM’s public response.
