Iran Army hits US base in Kuwait as satellite images show fresh damage

The Army's Public Relations Office said the strike marked the 27th phase of Operation Sa'eqeh and was carried out in response to recent US military attacks on Iran, including an airstrike on a residential home on Qeshm Island.

According to the statement, loitering drones targeted aircraft shelters, satellite communications systems and equipment storage facilities at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base. It described the installation as a major hub for US air and surveillance operations and a vital center for the logistical support of American forces.

The retaliation comes as the US has been targeting southern Iranian provinces since earlier in July after violating the terms of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

Tehran has responded with repeated missile and drone attacks targeting US-operated military facilities across the region under Operation Nasr 2 and Operation Sa'eqeh (Lightning).

The Army condemned the US strike on civilian homes in Qeshm, calling it "a clear violation of humanitarian principles and another example of the enemy's war crimes."

It added that "crimes, sanctions and threats will only make Iran more united and cohesive in its sacred defense."

The statement further said the "decisive, extensive and heavy" attacks carried out by the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps have made it "very costly and difficult" for the United States to intercept Iranian drones and missiles despite deploying advanced air defense systems and reinforcing them.

It also noted that Washington has imposed strict censorship to prevent information about damage, casualties and injuries from becoming public.

The operation followed a deadly US strike on a residential building on Iran's southern Qeshm Island on Thursday. A local official said three members of a family—a mother, a father and their two-year-old son—were killed in the attack. Two other children were pulled alive from the rubble and taken to hospital after receiving emergency treatment at the scene. The father was identified as a taxi driver, and the neighborhood was a working-class residential area.

Satellite imagery shows damage to US-run base in Kuwait

Meanwhile, satellite imagery has indicated new damage at another US-operated military installation in Kuwait.

Soar Atlas, specializing in maps and satellite imagery, said its assessment of newly released satellite images suggested fresh damage at Ali Al Salem Air Base.

According to the analysis, part of a storage area used by US forces appeared blackened in the latest imagery, indicating that the facility may have sustained damage.

The developments come as The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Washington is reassessing the scale of its military presence in Kuwait.

Citing US officials familiar with the deliberations, the newspaper said the Pentagon had already been considering reducing its troop presence before the war on Iran began and has since scaled back personnel in Kuwait to minimize the risk posed by Iranian attacks on US military bases.

Analysts quoted by the newspaper said US officials increasingly believe that maintaining a large permanent force in Kuwait is no longer militarily necessary.