US military says it hit dozens of Iran’s IRGC targets

(Reuters)

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, July 30 – The U.S. military said it struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets in ​Iran, including military command centres and drone facilities, in a two-hour operation launched after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East.

The operation began ‌at 0000 GMT and ended at 0200 GMT on Thursday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

“The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighbouring Gulf countries,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

Iran’s state media reported that three people were killed in U.S. strikes on Qeshm Island.

Jordan’s armed forces said on Thursday that they had thwarted an Iranian attempt to target the kingdom, intercepting five missiles.

The U.S. strikes came after Iran ​confirmed on Wednesday that it had fired ballistic missiles at U.S. troops in Jordan. CENTCOM said all of the missiles were intercepted. U.S. bases in Jordan have lately become ​primary Iranian targets.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. and Saudi forces launched strikes against Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq, in retaliation for drone attacks on ⁠Saudi oil targets launched from Iraq. The joint attack marked the first time Riyadh has publicly joined strikes alongside Washington.

In Egypt, a drone hit a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Mediterranean port ​of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said in an initial assessment on Wednesday.

A statement from Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone ​attack. It was not immediately clear who was responsible.

The latest strikes in Iraq and Egypt threatened to draw more Middle Eastern countries into the conflict, after the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen declared a naval blockade last week on Saudi Arabia.

The war began in February, when the U.S. and Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran that Trump said would last only a few weeks. A temporary ceasefire agreement in June collapsed amid renewed fighting ​over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway that Iran says it now controls.