Iran's IRGC warns countries hosting US forces to prepare for "corresponding response"

Tehran [Iran], July 18 (ANI): Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued an explicit warning to nations hosting American troops, stating that they must prepare for a "corresponding response" amid escalating regional conflicts, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The military wing demanded that these host nations "activate their civil defence units to protect their citizens and move them away from potential military targets", accusing regional governments of allowing their territories to be used as launchpads for aggression against Iran.
In an initial execution of this threat, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the IRGC's claims that its ground forces utilised unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles to strike an American military logistics centre situated at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, asserting that the operation inflicted casualties among the personnel deployed at the installation.
Simultaneously, the group stated that its forces launched an offensive against the US Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, asserting that the cross-border operation successfully disabled radar systems while destroying a weapons maintenance hangar and a drone facility at the site.
These hostile manoeuvres follow a severe escalation in regional hostilities, as the United States and Iran exchanged a fresh wave of military strikes on Saturday. Fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz has intensified, with no immediate resolution in sight following the breakdown of an interim ceasefire.
The ongoing conflict has increasingly focused on the control of this vital shipping lane, severely reducing maritime transit and triggering a sharp rise in global oil prices. The latest military actions involved American strikes against Iranian defensive positions, alongside retaliatory Iranian missile and drone deployments targeted across the Gulf region.
Amid the widening conflict, Kuwait reported intercepting incoming Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday. Concurrently, Bahrain confirmed that air raid sirens had been activated as the violence spread further across the Middle East.
According to the US Central Command, American forces conducted a seventh consecutive night of aerial operations aimed at diminishing Iranian military capabilities late Friday. In a statement released early Saturday, the military command confirmed the operations had successfully targeted "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities."
Following these operations, Iranian state television reported that the American airstrikes caused significant damage to transport links in Bandar Khamir, located within the southern Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz. The bombardment of crucial highway and railway infrastructure appeared intended to isolate the major port city of Bandar Abbas from key logistical routes leading to central Iran and Tehran.
Furthermore, the Iranian Energy Ministry acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" for the first time on Friday. The ministry subsequently advised citizens in heatwave-affected southern provinces to limit electricity consumption, though official sources withheld details regarding the precise targets hit.
In tandem with the infrastructure strikes, a separate overnight operation on Friday destroyed a monitoring facility at Iran's Chabahar port along the Gulf of Oman. The incident was confirmed by the state-run IRNA news agency and subsequently corroborated by the US military.
While Iranian authorities asserted that the structure was strictly utilised to monitor commercial shipping, the US Central Command stated that the facility functioned as a critical component of a maritime surveillance network deployed by Iran's Revolutionary Guard to "track and target" commercial vessels within the shipping corridor.
The friction intensified further as Iranian state media reported additional explosions across central and southern regions on Friday evening, including near Ahvaz, Lar, Yazd, and Sirik.
This extensive military friction persists as Iran continues to restrict maritime access through the waterway. Data from MarineTraffic.com indicated that commercial vessel crossings dropped to a three-week low of just eight ships on Thursday, contributing to oil prices climbing above USD 86 a barrel on Friday.
In response to the American offensive, Iranian forces launched several counterstrikes across the Gulf on Friday. The Qatari Interior Ministry warned local citizens to seek shelter during incoming missile fire, confirming that falling shrapnel had injured a child.
In Kuwait, public officials confirmed that the incoming strikes inflicted severe damage on a combined power and water desalination facility, while a defence ministry spokesperson stated that separate drone strikes targeting military bases had wounded several service personnel.
The geographical scope of the conflict widened further as the Jordanian military confirmed the interception of three incoming projectiles on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, explosions were reported within the Kurdistan region of Iraq, specifically around Irbil and Sulaymaniyah, as local air defences engaged incoming targets.
Simultaneously, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre reported that a commercial tanker navigating the Oman-controlled shipping lane inside the Strait of Hormuz came under fire on Friday. The agency confirmed that the vessel sustained minor damage, with no crew casualties reported.
The maritime targeting underscores a broader geopolitical dispute over the waterway. Tehran continues to maintain that the passage should fall exclusively under its domestic jurisdiction, demanding that transit vessels pay specific levies despite the global community designating the strait as an international waterway.
Addressing the American public on Thursday evening, US President Donald Trump commented on the progress of the military campaign, stating, "We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly." (ANI)