The US announced it had completed the eighth night of airstrikes against Iran. The move came after an attack by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on a US base in Jordan killed two American soldiers and left one missing.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that the operations, launched at 10:00 p.m. local time on Saturday on the orders of President Donald Trump, were designed to reduce Iran's capacity to threaten maritime shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to punish the forces that launched the attack in Jordan. The command later announced that the wave of strikes was complete and that Iran's military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities had been hit.
Iran reported that there were no casualties or infrastructure damage in the targeted strikes near Sirik in the south and in the Shadegan region near the Iraqi border. In response, Iranian state television reported that the army had carried out drone attacks on US military assets at the Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
With the losses in Jordan, the number of US soldiers killed since the start of the clashes has risen to 16, and the number of wounded has exceeded 420. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement that US actions had rendered Trump's signature 'worthless' and warned of 'heavier costs'.
Attacks on Gulf Countries
Kuwait came under heavy attack on Saturday. The country's armed forces announced that they had intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and that firefighters and oil workers responding were injured. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed to have struck a US military support center at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and destroyed a radar facility. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation reported that an oil facility had been hit and sustained significant damage.
Iranian media reported that an area where US warplanes were gathered at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain and an intelligence center were targeted. Iranian state television also claimed that at least two US warplanes and three other aircraft were destroyed in the attack on the US base in the Al Azraq area of Jordan.
Saudi Arabia's early warning system on Saturday warned residents of Al-Kharj and Yanbu to take shelter. Two sources close to the matter said that the first Iranian missile attack on Saudi Arabia in more than three months had triggered the alerts. Iran's Revolutionary Guards, however, made no mention of any attack on Saudi Arabia.
Struggle for Control in the Strait of Hormuz and Mounting Casualties
Iranian state television reported that three people were killed, eight were injured, and two bridges and a tunnel were damaged in Saturday's US strikes in Hormozgan province. Iran's Health Ministry announced that 50 people had been killed and more than 500 injured in US strikes over the past three weeks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ismail Bekayi accused the US of trying to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes. As both sides targeted maritime traffic, the European Union and Gulf countries called on Iran to halt all attacks and keep the strait unconditionally open.
The US State Department issued a global travel advisory for Americans abroad due to high tensions in the Middle East and the 'potential for unpredictable escalation'.
