US forces carried out fresh defensive strikes on Wednesday against an Iranian military facility after intercepting multiple attack drones, according to US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said US Central Command troops shot down four one-way Iranian drones posing a threat near the Strait of Hormuz, and later targeted a ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth drone.
The escalation came hours after President Donald Trump declared that Iran was “negotiating on fumes” and insisted he would not be pressured by the upcoming midterm elections into striking a deal to end the nearly three-month-long conflict affecting global markets. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced today that it had struck a US airbase around 4:50 am local time, following what it called an American attack near Bandar Abbas airport. While Iranian reports did not specify the base’s location, the IRGC cautioned that any further US moves would trigger a “more decisive” retaliation.