WANA (Jul 08) – The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it has launched a joint missile and drone operation targeting 85 critical US military facilities and shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone, in what it termed an initial response to American airstrikes earlier today.

 

According to a statement released by the IRGC Public Relations Department, the retaliatory strikes targeted US military installations at Salman Port, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

 

The IRGC stated that the American strikes, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning, hit coastal bases and civilian stations along the coasts of Hormozgan Province and Mahshahr. Tehran characterized the US action as a direct violation of a standing ceasefire and the “Islamabad Agreement.”

 

The IRGC statement framed the US airstrikes as a desperate reaction to the massive, multi-million-strong funeral processions held in Iraq for Iran’s late leader, suggesting Washington sought to overshadow the historic event.

 

During the counter-operation, IRGC Aerospace and Naval forces reportedly intercepted and shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that Iran claims was attempting to interfere with the retaliatory strikes.