Iran strikes US bases across region after American attack kills 18, including children

Iran has launched missiles and drones at US military facilities across the region in retaliation for American attacks that killed at least 18 people in the country on Tuesday. Among the dead were at least four people, including two children, killed when US forces struck a wedding in Kuhestak, near the coastal city of Sirik. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck US sites in Erbil, in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, using missiles and drones. The IRGC said it “carried out a coordinated missile and drone attack” that destroyed a maintenance centre, warehouses and the “guidance system of a US surveillance aerostat”, Iranian news agency IRNA reported. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf condemned Washington over the killing of children and described US forces as “Satan”. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters “If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it’s Satan,” Ghalibaf wrote on X. Iran also attacked US military facilities at the Al Dhafra and Al Minhad bases in the UAE. “In response to the targeting of innocent civilians since dawn today, dozens of army kamikaze drones have targeted the radar systems and locations of US forces at the al-Dhafra and al-Minhad bases in the UAE,” the IRGC said. It described Al Dhafra as a major operational centre for “criminal America in the region and is used for air operations, reconnaissance, surveillance, and support”. An F/A-18 Super Hornet readies for take-off on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS George Washington on 29 August 2026 (US Navy/AFP) In Kuwait, Iranian forces also struck the headquarters and residence of the US commander at Ali Al Salem Airbase. The attack set fire to a drone hangar and a launch area used in attacks on Iran, while also destroying several US drones, according to the IRGC. Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a report carried by the official IRIB broadcaster that the retaliatory strikes caused heavy damage to US infrastructure, weapons and equipment. He said they also killed or wounded a “significant number” of American commanders and soldiers, though this could not be verified. “These offensive operations against the Americans will continue until they regret their crimes,” he said. Zolfaghari warned that further US attacks would trigger “heavier, broader and more destructive” Iranian responses. He added that countries assisting the US military would bear the consequences. 'Expel the Americans from your countries' IRGC political deputy General Yadollah Javani urged regional governments to remove US forces from their territory. “It is better to expel the Americans from your countries and take back the bases,” Javani said. He specifically warned Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan that Iran would strike any location used to launch attacks against it. Iran attacked US military targets in the Middle East on 31 August in retaliation for American strikes on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, the first exchange of fire for a month in a war that has engulfed the region (Atta Kenare/AFP) Bahrain said its air defence systems intercepted Iranian drones after the Interior Ministry instructed residents to seek shelter. Meanwhile, two oil tankers struck sea mines and became disabled while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC said. Their crews abandoned the vessels after US operatives directed them towards what Tehran described as an “illegal route”. “The IRGC Navy had previously warned about the dangers of passing through the mined passage, and in addition, double punishments have been foreseen for shipping companies that, instead of following the legal path, fall for the deception of the United States and leave their vessels at the disposal of the enemy, which will be implemented soon,” the IRGC said. Araghchi blames ‘serpent’ Netanyahu for luring Washington into war on Iran Read More » Oil prices rose as the exchange of attacks deepened fears of further supply disruption and the resumption of more direct conflict. Brent crude reached more than $95 a barrel. US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Washington wanted to force Iran back into negotiations. “I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said Iran was “playing out the inevitable” before asking: “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” Separately, the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand after spending more than 200 consecutive days at sea. Reports of worsening conditions and concerns over sailors’ mental health have plagued the aircraft carrier during its prolonged deployment. Thousands of US personnel will spend five days near Pattaya, a resort city known for its nightlife and sex tourism.