Middle East on the morning of June 11th: US launches Tomahawk missiles, Iran directly attacks the 5th Fleet.
On the morning of June 11, immediately after the US announced the completion of a new wave of precision-guided airstrikes, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) immediately retaliated fiercely with attacks targeting the US Fifth Fleet and military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
According to the latest announcement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) – the agency overseeing US forces in the region – the US military has "completed" its latest airstrike targeting "military surveillance facilities, communications systems, and air defense positions throughout Iranian territory."
CENTCOM stated that the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy simultaneously deployed high-precision guided weapons to strike targets that Washington deemed "threats to U.S. forces and international commercial shipping navigating the region's waters."
Notably, the US military has officially rejected Tehran's earlier claim that the strategic Strait of Hormuz had been completely closed. On the X platform, CENTCOM stated: "The truth is that commercial ships are still moving in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight (June 10)."
Under military pressure from Washington, Tehran immediately launched large-scale counterattacks. That same morning, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had attacked several US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran's state news agency IRNA, citing a statement from the IRGC, said: "In two phases of operations, 18 key targets belonging to the US military at the Ali and Ahmad air bases were hit."
The forces also claimed to have "hit and destroyed" facilities at the Sheikh Isa air base (Bahrain).
More specifically, Iranian news agencies Mehr and Fars reported that the country's armed forces used drone squadrons to target communication antennas and radar stations belonging to the Patriot air defense system of the 5th Fleet (US Navy) stationed in Bahrain.
In response to the relentless attacks, Bahraini authorities issued an emergency air raid alert. The Gulf nation's Ministry of Interior issued a statement urging citizens to "remain calm and immediately move to the nearest safe shelter."
In an interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump stated that US forces fired 49 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iran in the early hours of June 11th. He threatened to continue "firing firepower" if Tehran did not accept US conditions for ending the conflict. President Trump also revealed that Iranian leaders had called him directly to request a halt to the bombing campaign.
However, the IRGC immediately issued a strong rebuttal to this information. Through IRNA, Tehran declared: "Trump's statement about Iranian officials being in contact with him is completely rejected. It is merely an excuse to find a way to withdraw from the war."
