DUBAI — The US Central Command confirmed Saturday that American military forces struck Iranian radar installations on Qeshm Island and in the Goruk region of southeastern Iran, in what a Pentagon spokesperson called “defensive counterforce strikes” targeting infrastructure used to coordinate drone and missile launches against US and allied assets in the Gulf.
The strikes were the first confirmed US military action inside Iranian territory since the confrontation between the two countries escalated this week. CENTCOM said the radar sites had been used to guide attacks on commercial shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed the strikes and said they killed at least three IRGC personnel. IRGC spokesperson General Ali Mohammad Naelin called the strikes “an act of war” and vowed a “proportional and decisive response.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister warned that “all options are on the table” for retaliation, adding that Iran would refer the attacks to the UN Security Council. Oil prices rose 2.1% to $123.80 per barrel following the announcement.
Written by Layla Hassan, Middle East & North Africa Correspondent