US Hits IRGC Sites After Iranian Attack Bid

WASHINGTON (GNP): American forces carried out a large-scale bombing campaign against Iran on Wednesday, targeting dozens of sites linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in direct retaliation for an Iranian missile assault on US military positions a day earlier.

The US Central Command confirmed the operation, describing it as a forceful answer to Tuesday’s failed Iranian strikes on American bases in Jordan and on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Every missile fired by Iran during that earlier attack was intercepted before reaching its target, according to Centcom.

The retaliatory raids began at 8pm Eastern Time and continued for roughly sixty minutes, hitting what Centcom identified as military command centers, missile and drone production facilities, coastal monitoring posts, and naval assets belonging to Iran’s elite military force.

The escalation follows a brief lull in hostilities during which diplomatic channels appeared to reopen. President Donald Trump had described the discussions as amicable, though Iranian officials publicly denied that any negotiations were taking place. That fragile calm collapsed once Iran moved against US forces and Gulf shipping lanes.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before the strikes were carried out, Trump signaled that Washington intended to respond forcefully, noting that Tehran was aware retaliation was imminent and had asked the US to hold back.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said its forces had struck an American air base and a command facility inside Jordan, framing the action as a response to what it called aggression by US forces. The Guard also claimed its naval units had disabled three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessels allegedly disregarded warnings while transiting a route Tehran considers unauthorized.

Wednesday’s exchange came only a day after the conflict widened further, with the United States and Saudi Arabia jointly announcing strikes on Iran-aligned militia positions inside Iraq. Centcom said that operation targeted logistics hubs and weapons depots tied to dozens of drone attacks carried out against allied forces over the preceding three days.

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Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, a state-sanctioned paramilitary network dominated by Shia militias with ties to Iran, reported that at least twenty of its fighters were killed in those joint strikes. Baghdad’s presidency condemned the operation as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, while Trump maintained in a separate interview that the strikes had been carried out with the knowledge of Iraq’s government.

The renewed fighting comes five months after the United States and Israel first launched military action against Iran in February, a campaign Trump had initially predicted would conclude within weeks. Last Friday, Washington had paused an intense thirteen-night bombing campaign against Iranian weapons and military infrastructure that reportedly left dozens dead.

Reports on Wednesday indicated that Trump had separately met with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, who conveyed Riyadh’s desire to see tensions de-escalate. Saudi Arabia and Iran, longtime rivals for influence across the Sunni and Shia Muslim worlds respectively, have competed for regional dominance for decades, a rivalry now further complicated by the widening conflict.

As of Wednesday night, there was no indication from either Washington or Tehran that a durable ceasefire was imminent.