TEHRAN: In a statement directed to Jordan, the IRGC said in response to a US attack on Qeshm island that killed two parents and their child, aerospace fighters targeted a ramp and maintenance shed at the al-Azraq airbase, which hosts US F-35 fighter jets, with several ballistic missiles, state news agency Fars reported, according to Al Jazeera.
The IRGC stated it had destroyed three F-35 aircraft and caused “heavy damage” to three others.
“A number of enemy officers and technical and maintenance personnel were also killed in this attack. Our region is no place for the infanticidal army that cruelly slaughters innocent families in the middle of the night while they sleep,” the IRGC said.
They added that their struggle, along with Jordan’s, would continue until “the last American occupier is expelled from the Islamic lands”.
No evidence attacks launched from its territory: Iraq military spokesperson
Iraq’s military spokesperson said there was no evidence that recent attacks in the region were launched from Iraqi territory, according to Al Jazeera.
Brigadier General Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency on Thursday that “there is no evidence that attacks were launched from Iraqi territory.
“The government will not allow any individual actions from the inside, and at the same time will not accept any violation coming from outside the borders,” al-Numan said.
Al-Numan explained that “the visit of the prime minister and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Ali Falih al-Zaidi, to the headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and his receiving a detailed briefing on the attacks targeting PMF members in several governorates confirms that the PMF is an integral part of the national defence system.”
He said the security establishment was currently preparing a comprehensive security plan to prevent future attacks and preserve Iraq’s full sovereignty. Al-Numan stressed that official security forces were solely responsible for the security file and would not allow any armed presence outside the state’s framework.
Talks with Oman officials over Strait of Hormuz are ongoing: Iran FM spokesperson
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said talks with Oman in Tehran were continuing through several rounds, while blaming the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption to international shipping on US and Israeli military actions, according to Al Jazeera.
Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the discussions with Omani officials, which began last week in Tehran, were ongoing and that further meetings had been held on Thursday.
“What is clear is that currently, the Strait of Hormuz is closed due to American actions and the insecurity that America has imposed on this waterway,” Baghaei told the ILNA news agency. “International shipping is being harmed and damaged solely because of American actions.”
He said the situation was the result of “military aggression” by the US and Israel that began on March 28 and continues in various forms. Baghaei cited attacks on Iranian vessels, what he called an illegal blockade of ports and transit routes, and continuing strikes against Iran.