Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a warning Friday urging civilians in countries where U.S. forces are stationed to immediately stay away from any location where American troops are operating or hiding.
3+The statement told civilians to keep a 500-meter radius from areas where, according to the organization, covert American forces are located. The Guards claimed the United States launched a war against Iran about five months ago, violated a ceasefire agreement, and resumed fighting.
The organization also accused the U.S. of striking civilian infrastructure and killing civilians, including pilgrims during Arbaeen events at the Iraq border. The statement further claimed American soldiers and officers have begun leaving military bases and operating from buildings in cities out of fear of Iranian strikes.
3+Earlier, the Revolutionary Guards announced they struck the al-Adiri base in Kuwait and the command tower of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
The warning comes amid the U.S. military’s 13th consecutive night of strikes, against the backdrop of an especially tense weekend and escalating threats between Washington and Tehran. Iran reported explosions in several cities in the south and southwest of the country, alongside activation of air defense systems in the capital Tehran.
3+Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Iran rejected a ceasefire proposal in the fighting that came from U.S. President Donald Trump and was delivered to Tehran through Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. According to the report, which was based on Iranian and Iraqi officials who spoke to the newspaper anonymously, al-Zaidi arrived in Iran with a delegation of senior officials and met with the regime’s top leadership in Tehran.
The meetings included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker and head of the negotiating team Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Details of the ceasefire proposal were not published, but Iranian sources told the newspaper it was the only proposal on the table, and that the regime in Tehran is not interested in a temporary deal that doesn’t settle the issue of control over the Strait of Hormuz.
3+Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi addressed the Iraqi prime minister’s visit and said it was “significant given the current circumstances in the region.” According to him, al-Zaidi shared his “positions and impressions” from his visit to Washington, but claimed the problem isn’t in passing messages between the sides. “The problem is not passing messages,” he said. “The problem is America’s perception, which is illogical and greedy.”
The overnight strikes come after about two weeks of sustained escalation in exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran. According to reports, the U.S. military is operating against military bases and other infrastructure in Iran, while Tehran is responding with strikes using drones and missiles against American targets and objectives in Gulf states and Jordan. At the same time, Iran continues to threaten shipping routes in the region, including the Strait of Hormuz.