Iran claims 220 US troops killed or injured in retaliatory strikes in 24 hrs

Iran’s armed forces have claimed that about 220 US troops and commanders were killed or injured in retaliatory attacks over the past 24 hours, according to a military spokesperson.

In a statement on Saturday (March 7), Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, said the strikes also caused significant damage to US military facilities in the region.

Zolfaghari said an attack targeting the United States Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain killed 21 American personnel and wounded several others.

He added that another strike on the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates left nearly 200 US troops killed or injured.

The spokesperson also claimed that an oil tanker owned by US interests in the northern part of the Persian Gulf had been targeted during the attacks.

According to Iran’s state-run Press TV, the retaliatory strikes followed renewed military operations launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28.

Iran says those earlier attacks, carried out about eight months after a previous strike on Iranian territory and nuclear facilities, resulted in the deaths of the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior military commanders, along with more than a hundred civilians, including women and children.

Tehran said it responded swiftly with missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli-controlled areas and US bases across the Middle East.

Iranian officials maintain that the operations are directed solely at US and Israeli military facilities and interests, stressing that Iran holds no hostility toward regional states and respects their sovereignty.