The Media Line: Iran Claim of Strike on US Airbase Tests Fragile Gulf Ceasefire 

Iran Claim of Strike on US Airbase Tests Fragile Gulf Ceasefire 

By The Media Line Staff 

Iran said Thursday that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US airbase after American forces struck a site near Bandar Abbas, while Kuwait reported intercepting hostile missile and drone threats in the latest test of a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war. 

The IRGC said the retaliatory attack was launched at 4:50 a.m. local time after what it described as an early-morning US strike near Bandar Abbas airport, a strategic area on Iran’s southern coast close to the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards did not identify the American base they said they had targeted, and there was no immediate public confirmation that a US facility had been hit, damaged, or sustained casualties. 

Kuwait’s military said its air defenses were responding to missile and drone threats and warned residents that explosions could be heard as interception systems engaged hostile targets. Kuwait, a US ally that hosts American forces, did not publicly attribute the attack to Iran or specify whether any base had been the intended target. 

The developments followed new US military action inside Iran. A US official said American forces struck a military site near Bandar Abbas and shot down several Iranian one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, including a control station allegedly preparing another launch. Washington described the actions as defensive, saying they were intended to protect US forces and commercial shipping. 

The exchange came as President Donald Trump dismissed reports of an emerging arrangement over management of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which much of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes. Disruptions there have already helped push energy prices higher and unsettled Gulf governments seeking to avoid a broader regional war.