Washington, July 30 (SANA)The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Thursday that it had carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes targeting dozens of sites belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) insideIran.

In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said it struck “dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities.”

CENTCOMsaid the two-hour operation was conducted in response to what it described as Iran’s attempted missile attacks on US forces in the region and was “aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboringGulfcountries.”

The command added that IRGC forces had launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in “an attempted surprise attack” on US forces on Tuesday, US time, stating that “all Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.”

US PresidentDonald Trumpsaid Wednesday that the United States would carry out a “very strong” military strike against Iran following what he described as a missile attack targeting US forces stationed in the Middle East.

Trump said Washington could consider reaching an agreement with Tehran at a later stage, but would first deliver a strong military response.

He also said he had been briefed on a drone attack targeting a US-owned floating gas storage vessel at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta.

Trump further described reports that Iran was expected to receive a shipment of Chinese shoulder-fired air defense systems as “surprising,” adding that the Chinese and Russian presidents had previously assured him they would not intervene in the conflict on Tehran’s behalf.