IRGC claims attack on USS Tripoli, other US, Israeli targets

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that it had targeted the US amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7), claiming the vessel, which it said was carrying more than 5,000 personnel, was forced to withdraw to the southern Indian Ocean.

In a statement, the IRGC said its naval and aerospace forces had carried out strikes on US and Israeli command, operational, logistical and military-industrial infrastructure as part of the 98th wave of Operation True Promise 4, following earlier warnings by the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, News.Az reports, citing Tasnim News Agency.

The operation was dedicated to Brigadier General Majid Khademi, identified by the IRGC as head of its intelligence directorate, who it said was killed in earlier US-Israeli strikes.

The statement said that in the initial phase of the operation, IRGC naval forces struck an Israeli-linked container ship, identified as SDN7, with a cruise missile, causing heavy damage and a large fire.

It added that Iranian ballistic missiles had hit targets in northern and southern Tel Aviv, as well as strategic sites in Haifa, chemical facilities in Beersheba, and locations hosting Israeli military forces in Petah Tikva. The IRGC claimed Israeli air defences failed to intercept the missiles.

In another phase of the operation, the statement said a joint UAE-Israeli drone production facility, along with aircraft stationed at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, was targeted by Iranian drones and missiles.

The IRGC said operations by Iranian forces and allied groups in the region were ongoing and that further details would be released.

It also said maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and movements in the Persian Gulf were under close surveillance, warning that any hostile activity would be met with a “decisive response”.

News.Az