'Strike, And You Will Be Struck': Ghalibaf's Warning As Iran Claims US 5th Fleet HQ Attack

Iran has claimed retaliatory strikes against the US 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and an American military base in Kuwait as the Iran War enters another dangerous phase.

Iran on Thursday claimed it had launched retaliatory strikes against the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and an American military base in Kuwait, widening the latest round of military exchanges with Washington. Iranian state media reported that a fire broke out at the Fifth Fleet headquarters following the attack, although the claim and the extent of any damage were not immediately independently confirmed.

The reported strikes came after fresh US military attacks on Iranian targets and a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that Tehran would deliver a “devastating response”.

Explosions were heard in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, shortly after authorities activated air raid sirens over an incoming threat. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the warning system had been sounded and urged citizens and residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe location. Iranian outlets, meanwhile, circulated footage which they said showed attacks on American military facilities in the region.

The developments were not limited to Bahrain. Kuwait’s military said its air-defence systems were intercepting what it described as “hostile missile and drone attacks”, although its initial statement did not identify who had launched the projectiles. “The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defence systems intercepting hostile attacks,” the Kuwaiti military said in a post on X.

The US Fifth Fleet, headquartered in Bahrain, is a central component of the American naval posture in the Middle East. Its area of operations covers strategically important waterways, including the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.

Thursday’s claimed retaliation by Iran followed another round of US strikes against Iran. US Central Command had said American forces hit more than 80 targets with precision munitions, including Iranian air-defence systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites and anti-ship missile capabilities. CENTCOM also said more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and around the Strait of Hormuz were targeted.

As reports of the Iranian attacks emerged, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a direct warning to Washington. He accused the United States of “bullying and breaking promises”, arguing that such actions were no longer without consequences.

“Let me be clear: Strike, and you will be struck,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X. His remarks came as Iran sought to portray the attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait as a direct response to the latest American military operation.

Ghalibaf also linked the confrontation to the continuing dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, where attacks on commercial vessels have already triggered fresh US military action. He warned that the strategic waterway would reopen through “Iranian arrangements” rather than under what he called “American threats”.

“Do not flail around pointlessly, or you will sink deeper,” Ghalibaf wrote. The warning suggests Tehran is continuing to treat control and management of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as a central part of its confrontation with Washington.