West Asia war LIVE: U.S. military bases in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait struck by IRGC
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced strikes on U.S. military-linked targets in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, including a command-and-control centre and drone hangars, after an interim ceasefire arrangement between the U.S. and Iran broke down.
The ceasefire had followed a memorandum of understanding reached in mid-2026 that paused hostilities and set a negotiating window for a longer-term settlement; it collapsed after alleged strikes on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and a subsequent round of U.S. strikes on Iranian territory.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations across the Middle East, coordinated the U.S. response; retaliatory Iranian strikes were reported against multiple Gulf-based U.S. facilities.
The escalation renewed concern over the safety of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most critical oil transit chokepoint, with knock-on effects for global energy markets and countries dependent on Gulf oil imports, including India.
The IRGC and Iran's Dual Military Structure
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed in 1979 under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, shortly after the Islamic Revolution, as a parallel armed force tasked with "guarding the revolution and its achievements" — distinct from Iran's regular army (Artesh). Under Iran's constitution, the IRGC answers directly to the Supreme Leader, bypassing the elected president, giving it an institutional position above ordinary civilian oversight. It also controls the Quds Force, responsible for Iran's extraterritorial and proxy operations, and runs significant parts of Iran's economy.
Key Details
- Formed in 1979; reports directly to Iran's Supreme Leader under the doctrine of velayat-e-faqih (guardianship of the jurist).
- Operates independently of Iran's conventional army; commands its own naval, air, and ground branches plus the Quds Force.
- Several countries, including the U.S., have designated the IRGC (or Quds Force) as a terrorist organisation.
The IRGC, not Iran's regular armed forces, executed the retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases, reflecting its role as Iran's primary instrument for external military confrontation.
The Strait of Hormuz as a Global Chokepoint
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is the world's busiest oil transit chokepoint, with no viable large-scale alternative route for Gulf oil exports, making it strategically decisive during any Iran-linked conflict.
Key Details
- Oil flow through the strait has averaged roughly 20 million barrels per day in recent years — about a fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption.
- China, India and Japan together receive the largest share of oil transiting the strait, making Asian economies especially exposed to disruption.
- CENTCOM's area of responsibility covers the Gulf waters through which this trade flows, making the command central to any effort to keep the strait open.
Alleged Iranian strikes on commercial shipping in the strait were the immediate trigger that broke the ceasefire, underlining why the waterway is treated as a single point of global economic vulnerability.
CENTCOM and U.S. Regional Command Architecture
The United States divides global military responsibility among geographic "unified combatant commands." CENTCOM (U.S. Central Command) covers the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia, and is the standing command through which the U.S. projects force and manages basing arrangements with Gulf partners such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar.
Key Details
- CENTCOM's area of responsibility spans roughly 20 countries across the Middle East and Central Asia.
- U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, headquartered in Bahrain, oversees naval operations in the Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz.
- Gulf states hosting U.S. bases (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar) do so under bilateral defence cooperation agreements, not a single multilateral treaty.
The bases targeted by the IRGC are part of the CENTCOM basing network that underpins the U.S. military posture in the Gulf.
- The IRGC was established in 1979; it answers directly to Iran's Supreme Leader.
- The Strait of Hormuz carries an estimated ~20 million barrels of oil per day, roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption.
- China and India together account for a large share of oil transiting the strait, making both countries directly exposed to Gulf disruptions.
- U.S. bases reportedly targeted include facilities in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, all within CENTCOM's area of responsibility.