On the evening of September 1 and on the night of September 2, the conflict between the United States and Iran sharply escalated. American forces carried out a series of attacks on military installations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in various parts of Iran. In response, Iran used ballistic missiles and drones against American military installations in Jordan and Iraqi Kurdistan. An attack was reported on a US base in Bahrain. In Kuwait, air defense systems also repelled drone attacks.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on the evening of September 1 announced the completion of another wave of strikes. According to the statement, US forces attacked IRGC targets, including air defense positions, radar systems, maritime facilities and infrastructure, mine-laying facilities and communications centers. CENTCOM said the operation was a response to recent efforts by the IRGC to target commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American military personnel. The command emphasized that there are now more than 50 thousand American troops in the Middle East and they are ready to continue operations by order of the US President.
Iranian media reported strikes and explosions in several areas of the country, primarily in the south and near the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters, a US missile attack was reported in the Ahvaz area, an attack on the civilian airport of Jiroft in the southeast of the country, as well as explosions in Chabahar, Bandar Abbas, Asaluyeh and Qeshm Island. Asaluyeh is one of the most important centers of the Iranian gas industry, and Bandar Abbas and Qeshm are located directly on the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM has not released a complete list of specific assets affected or reported any damage assessment results.
Casualties were reported from Sirik district in Hormozgan province. Iranian authorities said that in the area of the city of Kuhestak, the attack hit a residential building where a wedding was taking place. The Iranian Red Crescent reported five dead and dozens wounded. All the wounded (approximately 50-60 people) were taken to Minaba Hospital. By the morning of September 2, the American side had not commented on the assertion that civilians were injured as a result of the US strike.
The IRGC said it had launched a retaliatory operation and that the US strikes would only “tighten the lock” on the Strait of Hormuz. The Chairman of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said: if the enemy tries to deprive Iran of the opportunity to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export it. Before the war, about a fifth of the world’s oil trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
The main target of the Iranian strike was Jordan. The IRGC announced a massive ballistic missile attack on a US base and claimed that “numerous” US troops were killed as a result. American officials rejected this information: two sources told Reuters that, according to preliminary data, there were no casualties among the American military. The Jordanian army confirmed that 13 ballistic missiles were fired from Iranian territory into the kingdom. Ten of them were intercepted and destroyed, three more fell in remote uninhabited areas. The Jordanian side stated that there were no dead or wounded.
Iran also attacked targets in Iraqi Kurdistan. The IRGC announced a combined missile and drone attack on American bases in the Erbil area. According to the Iranian side, the repair facility, technical equipment warehouses and the control system of the American observation balloon were destroyed, fuel tanks were damaged, and there were deaths among American military personnel. At the time of writing, neither the US military nor the Iraqi authorities confirmed these statements about losses and destruction.
Iranian media also reported a major drone attack on a US military facility in Bahrain. Bahraini authorities said the Iranian drones were intercepted and destroyed. At the same time, the Kuwaiti army reported that air defense systems were repelling an attack by “enemy drones.” By the morning of September 2, Reuters did not have confirmed data on casualties or serious damage in Bahrain and Kuwait.
The current exchange of blows has become the most serious after several weeks of relative calm. A new round began on August 30, when the United States attacked two Iranian missile launchers on the island of Larak in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on American targets in Jordan. On August 31, two supertankers carrying Saudi oil were attacked by unknown projectiles as they exited the Strait of Hormuz; Responsibility for these incidents has not been established. The United States attributes the current operation, among other things, to threats to commercial shipping and Iran’s attempts to install sea mines.
US President Donald Trump, after the start of the American operation, warned Tehran that responding to the strikes would lead to an even larger attack. After Iran did retaliate, Trump said the next American strike could come “at a much tougher, higher level.” At the same time, on the afternoon of September 1, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran was ready to comply with the terms of the interim agreements reached in June if Washington fulfilled its obligations.