Iran claims targeting US radar system, military facilities in Kuwait

Tehran, July 20 (IANS) Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it had attacked a US early-warning radar system and several military facilities in Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base in retaliatory action against Washington, local media reported.

In a statement on Monday, the IRGC said that the US early-warning radar system was “completely destroyed” in a drone strike. It said that a warehouse sheltering aviation equipments, spare parts and drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base were struck in a separate attack, setting several drones ablaze, Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The IRGC urged people of Kuwait to not allow their country's territory to be used as a base to conduct military operations that continue to kill Muslims in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine.

The statement reads, "Kuwaiti territory must not serve as a safe haven for a terrorist army that has attacked at least 10 Muslim countries over the past decades and killed millions of Muslims," adding that the US military is considered an aggressor under the rulings of religious scholars from all Islamic schools of thought.

Addressing the people of Kuwait, the IRGC stated, "We expect you to fulfill your religious duty and restore the dignity of the Islamic lands," urging them not to allow their country to be used for carrying out aggression and killing Muslims.

On Sunday, IRGC said that it has intercepted and shot down the United States' MQ-9 drone in Iran's Ahvaz.

The advanced air‑defence system operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force under the command of Iran's integrated air defence network shot down the MQ‑9 drone, Iran's Tasnim News Agency said. The announcement comes as Iran continues to carry out retaliatory action against the US military targets in West Asia.

Meanwhile, Commander of the central Khatam al‑Anbiya headquarters, Major General Ali Abdollahi, has warned that Iran’s Armed Forces will give a devastating response to the US for any act of aggression, IRNA reported.

Abdollahi said that Iran will give a decisive and destructive response to any act of greed, bullying, expansionism, or brutality, and it will face costs "heavier than those of the second and third imposed wars."

He termed Iran's defensive power as a guarantee of nationwide security and a foundation allowing officials to work for the welfare of the people of Iran, IRNA reported.

Abdollahi said that the US, after facing repeated military failures, is trying to create division between the people and officials. He described Iran’s internal unity as the key to defeating this "satanic scheme."

--IANS

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