Deputy Foreign Minister: Iran has had no negotiations with the US

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in a series of statements and media reposts that it had carried out the “third wave of Operation Nasr 2.” In this account, the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force said that in a simultaneous missile-and-drone operation, they targeted several storage hangars for weapons and parts of enemy vessels and aircraft in Bahrain, as well as the MQ-9 drone deployment ramp in Kuwait. In some versions, these attacks were described as a response to U.S. Army “aggressions” on the same day, and the IRGC text referred to Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Some media focused only on the announced targeting, while others also reflected part of the full statement and its claimed context.

• In this report, the IRGC referred to the “third wave of Operation Nasr 2” and said that this wave had been carried out.
• In the IRGC’s account, the operation was conducted by fighters from the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force.
• The IRGC described the operation as a “simultaneous missile-and-drone” attack.
• In the published texts, it was said that several storage hangars for weapons, vessel parts, and enemy aircraft in Bahrain were targeted.
• In some versions, these targets were attributed to “Sheikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain.”
• The IRGC also said that the MQ-9 drone deployment ramp in Kuwait was targeted.
• In some versions, this site was attributed to “Ali Al-Salem Air Base, Kuwait.”
• In the IRGC’s account, a number of drones were “destroyed” or “damaged” in these attacks.
• Some media, instead of reproducing the full details, focused only on the targeting of the hangars and the MQ-9 drone ramp.
• In some texts, these attacks were described as a “response” to the U.S. Army’s afternoon aggressions earlier that day.
• In one repost, the IRGC attributed the U.S. attack to “a number of coastal stations of our armed forces.”
• In part of the coverage, the IRGC statement began with religious and slogan-like phrases, and some media quoted this section more fully than others.. Coverage difference: Among the media, some highlighted only the brief report on the targeting of the hangars and the MQ-9 drone ramp, while others also included the IRGC’s fuller statement, including the reference to “the third wave of Operation Nasr 2,” the code phrase “Ya Zainab al-Abidin, peace be upon him,” and the claim that these attacks were a response to U.S. action. The main difference is not in the core of the IRGC’s claim, but rather in the amount of detail, in whether the targets were attributed to Bahrain and Kuwait, and in whether the claimed context of a “response to aggressions” was included or omitted.