There were no initial reports of American casualties following Iran’s retaliatory attacks after the US launched a wave of strikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in southern Iran, according to a US official briefed on the initial assessments who spoke to Al-Monitor.
“Our people are fine,” the official said.
The US military said it had carried out the strikes on September 1 in response to renewed projectile attacks on commercial ships and a recent ballistic missile attack targeting at least one US base in Jordan.
US Central Command said its forces had struck “air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities and communications sites” belonging to the IRGC.
Explosions were reported in the southern Iranian port area of Bandar Abbas, as well as in Chabahar and on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said the strikes were carried out in response to Iran's forces allegedly attempting to place additional mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Describing the operation as “large and powerful,” Trump said it was also retaliation for “the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down” before they could strike at least one US base in Jordan over the weekend.
“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings,” Trump posted.
The US military carried out the strikes over roughly six hours, a day after two tankers carrying Saudi oil were hit minutes apart by projectiles off the coast of Oman while attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. US officials said Iran was behind the attacks.
Iranian state media reported further strikes near Konarak late on September 1. The deputy governor of Hormozgan Province told Iran's state broadcaster that a strike had hit a residential building in Kuhestak where a wedding celebration was being held.
The Iranian Red Crescent initially reported two people were killed in the attack, but later raised the death toll to five, including at least one child, with about 68 others injured.
Iran's retaliation came within hours of the US strikes. Jordan's Armed Forces said its air defences engaged 13 incoming missiles on the night of September 1, shooting down 10 over Jordanian territory. The remaining missiles fell in unpopulated areas, according to the Jordanian Army.
Kuwait's military also said its air defences were engaging incoming missiles and drones. The impact of Iran's retaliatory attacks was not immediately clear.
Iran's IRGC said it had targeted US military facilities at Erbil air base in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
By Aghakazim Guliyev
