In the early hours of June 28, local reports from Sirik County in eastern Hormozgan Province indicated that several consecutive explosions had been heard. Minutes later, it became clear that the area around Tahrouyi village had been struck. According to initial reports and official confirmations, the explosions resulted from projectiles hitting telecommunications towers in the area. While public attention focused on clarifying the incident, US Central Command (CENTCOM), designated by Iran as a terrorist organization, issued a statement formally claiming responsibility for the attacks.
The United States justified the military action by claiming the strikes inside Iran were a direct response to the targeting of a commercial oil tanker in recent days. Donald Trump, the US president, confirmed the attacks and claimed US military aircraft had bombed Iranian missile storage sites, drone facilities, and coastal radar installations. Tehran viewed the operation as a clear violation of existing security understandings, effectively ending a period of relative calm in the Persian Gulf.
Trump's Escalatory Rhetoric After Acknowledging Another Ceasefire Violation
On Saturday evening, local time, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, confirming what he described as a ceasefire violation and the attack on Iran:
"United States aircraft just struck Iran's missile and drone depots, as well as coastal radar sites, because of another violation of the ceasefire agreement."
Repeating Washington's threats and demands, the US president claimed:
"There is a very good chance they will never learn. The time may come when we can no longer be reasonable with them and will have to complete militarily what we successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist."
Earlier on Saturday evening, local time, CENTCOM announced that, on June 27 (Tir 6), US Central Command forces, acting under orders from Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump, had carried out additional strikes against multiple targets inside Iran.
CENTCOM claimed that after the previous day's US attacks, conducted in response to Iran's alleged attack on the commercial vessel MV Our Lovely, Iran had been given an opportunity to honor the ceasefire agreement. It alleged that ASZAN rejected that opportunity by launching a suicide drone at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time against the Panamanian-flagged tanker MT Kiko, carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil near the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military further claimed that American forces had struck Iran's military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone depots, and mine-laying capabilities in direct response to what it described as Iran's continued attacks on commercial shipping.
Decisive Response: Joint IRGC Missile and Drone Operation
The Islamic Republic of Iran responded swiftly and unexpectedly. In an official statement, the IRGC Public Relations Office announced that the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force had carried out a precise joint operation between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on June 28, delivering what it described as a forceful response.
The operation targeted eight key US military installations, including Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters at Salman Port in Bahrain, using ballistic missiles and attack drones.
The IRGC described the strikes as a response not only to the attacks on Sirik but also to repeated violations of the security understandings.
Following the operation, field reports from Kuwait and Bahrain indicated that air raid sirens sounded and Patriot air defense systems were activated. In Bahrain, powerful explosions were reportedly heard in the city of Askar, south of Manama, while unofficial sources reported damage to Sheikh Isa Air Base. Kuwait experienced similar conditions, with the Kuwaiti military officially confirming that its air defenses had intercepted successive waves of missile and drone attacks.
The extensive exchange of fire, according to the report, demonstrated Iran's ability to target US interests deep inside the southern Persian Gulf states.
IRGC: Violating Vessels Will Face Even Stronger Action
In a separate statement, the IRGC Public Relations Office emphasized that the Navy and Aerospace Force had responded decisively to recent US aggression, adding that:
"From now on, violating vessels will face even stronger action than before. Any future act of aggression by the enemy, regardless of the pretext, even if, as in the attacks last night and tonight, it targets minor objectives, will receive a crushing response."
Full IRGC Statement
In the Name of God, the Destroyer of the Oppressors
"Fight the leaders of disbelief, for they have no regard for their oaths, so that they may desist." (Quran 9:12)
To the honorable and noble people of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Your devoted sons in the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force, in a joint missile and drone operation conducted between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 28, launched ballistic missiles and drones against eight key military installations of the child-killing US military at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet at Salman Port in Bahrain, destroying them and responding decisively to recent US aggression.
The aggressor enemy, whose nature is rooted in breaking promises and violating agreements, attacked five coastal positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran early this morning under the pretext of responding to the IRGC Navy's action against a violating vessel.
Under the Islamabad Agreement, responsibility for regulating transit through the Strait of Hormuz rests with the Islamic Republic of Iran. From now on, violating vessels will be dealt with more forcefully than before. Any future aggression by the enemy, under any pretext, even if, like last night and tonight, it targets objectives of limited importance, will be met with a crushing response.
The enemy should know that violating the ceasefire contravenes Article One of the Islamabad Agreement and will result in the complete suspension of all related processes.
"Victory comes only from God, the Almighty, the All-Wise."