The situation in the Middle East has escalated sharply after Iran launched large-scale attacks on US military facilities in the region.
The information was officially disseminated by the Iranian state English-language media Press TV, which referred to a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to the source, a joint operation by the Guard's naval and air forces targeted American facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is located.
According to the Iranian news agency Fars News, the offensive is in direct response to the massive US air strikes against nearly 90 targets along the Iranian coast, carried out earlier by the US Central Command (CENTCOM). The conflict flared up again after US President Donald Trump announced the end of a temporary two-month ceasefire agreement signed in June. The truce collapsed after Iranian attacks on merchant ships and oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials in Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed that air-raid sirens were activated and air defense systems were activated to protect against approaching missiles and drones. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, quoted by Reuters, warned that Tehran would not relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz and was ready to completely close the strategic waterway in the event of further American aggression.
For its part, the White House and the Pentagon have announced that they are monitoring the situation closely, and President Trump has threatened Iran with even more devastating strikes if the attacks on American forces and international shipping do not stop immediately. Regional leaders and the United Nations have already called for maximum restraint to avoid the outbreak of a full-scale regional war with unpredictable consequences for the global economy.