MP blames US for Hormuz Strait security risks

A member of Iran's parliament said domestically produced low-cost drones have altered the military balance by creating challenges for far more expensive US defense systems.

Amir Hayat-Moghadam, a member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committe presidium, said battlefield developments had shown that Iranian-made drones, particularly low-cost models, had changed military calculations and posed serious challenges for US equipment.

"Even some US officials and military personnel have acknowledged that countering these drones has been difficult, and that using multi-million-dollar systems to intercept low-cost equipment has created a major challenge for them," Hayat-Moghadam said.

US forces carried out another round of strikes on Iranian military targets, hitting coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites during the eighth consecutive night of operations on July 18, US Central Command said.

CENTCOM said the strikes, launched at 11:30 p.m. ET at the direction of the US president, also targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces it said were responsible for attacks on US service members in Jordan on July 17.

More than 50,000 US military personnel remain deployed across the Middle East and are "highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready," CENTCOM said.

A US missile strike hit an area near the city of Shadgan in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, the provincial security deputy governor Valiollah Hayati said on Saturday adding the strike caused no casualties.

Hayati said the attack targeted a location near Shadgan and urged residents to follow official sources for information. He did not provide further details about the target or possible damage.

US warplanes carried out another round of strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island on Saturday, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim reported.

The report said at least two explosions were heard across the island, while the locations struck and the extent of any damage or casualties remained under investigation.

Iran's army said it targeted two US military bases in Kuwait with a large-scale drone attack. In a statement carried by official media on Saturday, the army said it struck the Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Adairi in response to what it called repeated US attacks.

The army added it targeted a US ammunition depot at Camp Adairi as well as Patriot radar and air surveillance radar systems at Ali Al Salem Air Base.

Iran's army said the operation was carried out in response to attacks on bridges, infrastructure and civilian areas inside Iran, accusing the United States of targeting non-military sites.