The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it attacked and destroyed a KGL company warehouse in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait, stating it was a "key logistics and military support center" for US forces in the region.
A video released concurrently showed a Shahed-136 suicide drone crashing into the smoking warehouse, causing a large explosion.
An Iranian drone crashes into a warehouse suspected of being a US military logistics center in Kuwait on 15/7. Video: CNN
CNN later analyzed images and cross-referenced geolocation, confirming the video was filmed in an industrial area near Mina Abdullah, Kuwait. Satellite data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) also indicated a significant fire in the area.
In 2018, KGL announced multi-billion USD contracts from the US Army for logistics and transportation services for tens of thousands of troops in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan. The company is also one of 5 contractors in a current contract (6/2023-12/2026) providing heavy transport to support US forces' troop and equipment transfers, and to maintain logistics networks in the Middle East.
In its announcement today, the IRGC also claimed to have destroyed a satellite communication center, air defense radars, patriot systems, control posts, and himars multiple rocket launchers belonging to the US in Kuwait. Iran also reportedly struck the command center, military spare parts and supplies warehouse, and fuel storage facility of the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain.
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The fire (red) in the warehouse area struck by an Iranian drone in Kuwait on 15/7. Graphic: NASA
Iranian forces also deployed drones to attack the Muwaffaq Al-Salti base in Jordan, targeting the fighter jet deployment area. "The strike destroyed hangars for f-15, f-16, and f-35 fighter jets, as well as several US mq-9 reaper drones," the IRGC stated.
The IRGC stated the operation retaliated against US airstrikes and urged Kuwait and Jordan to stop hosting US troops. "We do not initiate any war, but possess a firm will and ironclad determination to protect our independence and territorial integrity," the statement read.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, has not commented on the information.
CENTCOM previously reported attacking "dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian coast" within 7 hours. These targets included missile and drone launch sites, naval facilities, and Iran's coastal defense systems.
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Location of Iran and neighboring countries. Graphic: Guardian
Clashes between the US and Iran have reignited after several quiet weeks. Tensions previously escalated when the US, in coordination with Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), established a new route south of the Strait of Hormuz, entirely within Omani territorial waters. This move encouraged commercial vessels to use it instead of the northern route through Iranian territorial waters.
The IRGC accused the US of "imposing its will" on the Omani government by trying to direct vessels through the Strait of Hormuz via an "illegal maritime route" south of the area. Attacks on cargo ships in the strait have led to tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the US.
By Nguyen Tien (AFP, AP, Tasnim, CNN)
