Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched missile and drone attacks on a U.S. military air base and the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets, but U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the claims were false and that all Iranian attacks on American forces had failed.
Earlier, Iranian state media reported that the IRGC had carried out missile and drone attacks against a U.S. air and helicopter base in a regional country and the command headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
According to the IRGC, the escalation began after a U.S. warplane struck an Iranian tanker near the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday, damaging the vessel’s engine room. The force said it responded by targeting a U.S.-affiliated vessel identified as the Panaya with naval missiles.
The IRGC said the United States later struck a telecommunications tower belonging to the force on Qeshm Island, prompting further retaliation by its aerospace force against U.S. military targets in the region.
The force warned that any threat to security in the Strait of Hormuz would carry what it called a “harsh price” for the U.S. military.
U.S. military says Iranian attacks failed
In a statement posted on social media, CENTCOM rejected Iranian claims that the Revolutionary Guards had successfully struck the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and a U.S. air base in the region.
“All Iranian attacks on American forces failed,” CENTCOM said, adding that U.S. forces remained vigilant and prepared to defend against what it described as unwarranted Iranian aggression.
Separately, U.S. Central Command said U.S. and partner forces had successfully defended against multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and conducted self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island on June 2.
According to CENTCOM, Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward countries in the region, but none reached their intended targets. Two missiles fired toward Kuwait fell short or broke apart during flight, while three missiles launched toward Bahrain were intercepted by U.S. and Bahraini air defense forces, it said.
CENTCOM also said U.S. forces shot down three one-way attack drones launched by Iran toward civilian vessels transiting regional waters and carried out self-defense strikes against an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island.
No U.S. personnel were harmed, according to CENTCOM.