Iran announced the moment it launched a missile toward the US base

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) today released a video of the retaliation against US bases in the Middle East, showing three ballistic missiles believed to be the Fateh-110 series leaving the launch pad, increasing altitude and rushing into the night. This force warned that the US would face a “tough response” if it repeated its actions to attack Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on the same day that Tehran would “take all necessary measures to protect national sovereignty”, and described Washington’s attacks as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency in charge of US military operations in the Middle East, said that Iran launched a ballistic missile aimed at Kuwait and the projectile was intercepted by local air defense forces.

“Iran’s serious violation of the ceasefire occurred a few hours after it deployed five suicide UAVs, posing a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz,” the agency said.

CENTCOM confirmed that it had shot down all of the above UAVs, adding that they also prevented a sixth aircraft from launching from a ground control station in the city of Bandar Abbas. “We and our partners in the region remain vigilant and cautious as we continue to protect our forces and interests against unjustified aggression from Iran,” the statement said.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Iran’s missile and UAV attack on the country, affirming that this was a “serious escalation”.

The US military early this morning struck targets in Bandar Abbas, a port city located near the Strait of Hormuz and home to Iran’s strategic naval base. Reuters Citing unnamed US officials, the location poses a threat to Washington’s forces and maritime activities in the area.

The IRGC then announced an attack on the US air base used as the starting point for the attack on Bandar Abbas.

According to Iranian media, the target of retaliation is Ali Al-Salem military airport, a strategically important military facility of Kuwait, located in the center of the country and about 60 km from the border with Iraq. Kuwait has invested between $800 million and $1.5 billion over the years in base defense capabilities.

The airport is also home to the US 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, described by Washington as “a key airlift center and gateway to deploy combat power for allied and coalition forces in the region”. Italian forces also began stationing at this base in 2019 to participate in the task of dealing with the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) organization in Iraq.

Its important role made Ali Al-Salem base one of the locations that suffered the heaviest damage during 6 weeks of conflict.

This is the most serious fighting between the US and Iran since the ceasefire agreement took effect on April 8, affecting dialogue efforts to reach a peace agreement.

US and Iranian negotiators are working to finalize a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating more time to reach a consensus on the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles. US President Donald Trump said on May 27 that Iran wants to reach an agreement, but what Tehran offers is still not enough.