On September 1 (local time), according to TASS news agency, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had begun to respond to US attacks on targets of this force.
The IRGC said that Iran's air defense system shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that Tehran called "hostile".
The IRGC also declared that Iran's air and space forces had conducted ballistic missile attacks on US bases and assets in the region.
The IRGC said that the retaliatory move took place after US attacks on southern Iran on the same day, killing and injuring more than 54 people, according to the force's statement.
The semi-official Fars news agency quoted local officials as saying that at least 4 people, including a child and a woman, were killed and more than 50 injured in a US attack targeting a wedding in Sirik district, Hormozgan province.
Many explosions were recorded in southern Iran on the evening of September 1, after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced attacks targeting the IRGC.
Iranian media reported that explosions were recorded in some areas of Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Kerman and Bushehr provinces. Many explosions also occurred in Konarak and the area near Qeshm Island, but the location and specific cause have not yet been determined.
The Khatam al-Anbiya Center Command, Iran's key military command, declared that the country's armed forces will deploy "crushing" blows in response to US "air invasion" actions.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM said on social network X that US forces have begun attacking IRGC targets. According to CENTCOM, the attacks were carried out after IRGC's recent efforts to attack merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the deployment of US personnel in the area.
