"Most Iranian Drone Attacks Intercepted by U.S. Military... No Casualties Reported"

U.S. Bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait Attacked
Largest Strike Since Ceasefire... "21 Sites Targeted"

AP Yonhap News

Iran has announced that it attacked U.S. military bases across the Middle East using drones, but according to U.S. military sources, most of the Iranian drones were intercepted and no casualties have been reported so far.

On June 9 (local time), the New York Times (NYT), citing U.S. government officials, reported, "Iran launched missiles and drones toward U.S. military bases in the Middle East early this morning, and initial assessments indicate that most were intercepted." The report added, "So far, there have been no reports of U.S. casualties, and there has been no confirmation yet of any damage to U.S. bases from the Iranian attacks."

Previously, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran announced that it had attacked 21 U.S. military bases stationed across the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait, and that it had shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in Iranian airspace. This attack by Iran is the largest since the ceasefire with the United States took effect in April. Immediately after the IRGC's announcement, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait issued evacuation orders for residents and stated that they were intercepting drones and missiles launched from Iran.

Iran's large-scale attack on U.S. military bases in the Middle East is being interpreted as a retaliatory operation following a previous U.S. airstrike on southern Iranian territory. Earlier, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees operations against Iran, announced on the social media platform X that "in accordance with instructions from Commander-in-Chief President Trump, we began defensive strikes against Iran starting at 5 p.m. today." CENTCOM described the operation as "a response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter the previous day" and emphasized that it was "a proportional response to Iran's unjustifiable acts of aggression." The U.S. military conducted airstrikes targeting drone air defense systems, military bases, and missile launchers along Iran's southern coastal areas, including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Shirak.

The main cause of the clash between the two sides was the downing of a U.S. military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz the previous day. According to CENTCOM, on the night of June 8, a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed in the airspace near the Strait of Hormuz, and the two pilots were safely rescued using a maritime drone.

Regarding the helicopter crash, Iran claimed it was not a deliberate attack. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "The helicopter was not intentionally targeted by Iran" and insisted, "Iran is not behind the incident." Within the U.S. military, it has not yet been determined whether the helicopter crash was the result of a deliberate Iranian attack. Axios, citing U.S. government officials, reported that "it has been confirmed that an Iranian drone collided with the U.S. military helicopter, causing the crash, but whether the collision was intentional remains unclear."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.