Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Aug 31: The Iranian Army on Monday claimed that it carried out drone strikes targeting helicopters and forces stationed at the Al Minhad airbase in the UAE in response to US attacks on Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, the Iranian Army said that dozens of attack drones were launched at locations of helicopters and US military personnel at the Al Minhad base, describing the action as retaliation for the deaths of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) personnel and civilians on Larak Island.
“From early Monday morning, in response to the recent aggression by the aggressor enemy and in retaliation for the martyrdom of the brave personnel of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and innocent Iranian compatriots on Larak Island, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army targeted the locations of the helicopters and forces of the child-killing US military at the Al Minhad base in the UAE by launching dozens of attack drones,” the statement said, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
The Iranian Army described Al Minhad as an important centre used to support and transport foreign forces. It also expressed readiness to ensure Iran’s security until the perceived enemy threat is removed from the region and warned that it would “avenge the blood of all the martyrs of the imposed war from the American terrorist forces.”
The statement came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had carried out retaliatory strikes against US military positions in the region.
Meanwhile, the UAE Ministry of Defence said on Monday that its Air Force responded to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detected over the country’s territorial waters after it approached from Iran.
The ministry said the UAE Armed Forces remained on a high state of readiness to deal with potential threats, while air defence systems continued to monitor and safeguard the country’s airspace around the clock.
It also urged the public to rely exclusively on official sources for information and refrain from circulating rumours or inaccurate reports.
Earlier on Monday, the IRGC said it had conducted a missile and drone operation against the US King Hussein and Al-Azraq air bases in Jordan in retaliation for the US attack on Larak Island.
According to Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said the operation targeted technical and maintenance infrastructure as well as fighter-jet bases at the two air bases.
Larak Island is a small Iranian island located off the coast of Bandar Abbas, east of Qeshm Island and south of Hormuz Island.
The IRGC’s actions followed a US strike on two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday local time.
US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins said IRGC forces had been observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. He said the US military was monitoring the area closely and remained prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through the strategic waterway, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The IRGC said several military personnel and civilians were killed or wounded in what it described as a “US-Israeli” attack on Larak Island in Hormozgan province on Sunday night.