TEHRAN– Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Wednesday a sweeping new wave of military operations targeting US military infrastructure across the Persian Gulf, saying the strikes were carried out in retaliation for continued American attacks on Iranian territory and violations of the Iran-US Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Seven members of Iran’s Army Ground Force were martyred after a US missile strike on a military base in Bampur, southeastern Iran, early Wednesday. The Army said the attack targeted residential and dormitory facilities of the 388th Iranshahr Brigade, leaving several others wounded. Condemning the strike as a "cowardly aggression," the Army vowed a decisive response while affirming that Iran’s borders remain secure.

In a series of statements, the IRGC said it had struck multiple strategic US military installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan as part of the latest phases of Operation Nasr-2 (Victory-2), while reiterating that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until 'the end of Washington’s aggressive actions.'

According to the IRGC, the fourth wave of the operation targeted the main US military logistics center in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait, setting the facility ablaze and destroying its infrastructure. The IRGC accused Washington of attempting to conceal the failure of recent military operations by launching overnight strikes against Iranian coastal provinces after failing to secure maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The fifth wave focused on Bahrain, where the IRGC said its naval forces struck the US Fifth Fleet's command-and-control headquarters, logistics facilities, fuel depots, warehouses, and military equipment storage sites. The statement argued that US naval deployments had effectively disrupted regional shipping routes and warned that if exports serving American interests continued while others remained blocked, additional energy corridors could also become targets.

The sixth phase expanded operations to Jordan and Kuwait. The IRGC's Aerospace Force said it destroyed hangars housing US F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter aircraft at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan and eliminated several MQ-9 strategic drones stationed there. In a separate operation, Iranian missile and drone units reportedly struck US military facilities in Kuwait, targeting satellite communications infrastructure, Patriot air-defense systems, radar installations, logistics centers, and HIMARS rocket launchers.

Throughout the statements, the IRGC maintained that the operations were directed exclusively at US military assets, while urging regional governments and populations to end the American military presence in their countries.

Iran also accused Washington of repeatedly violating Iranian sovereignty since early April, despite the Pakistan-mediated Islamabad MoU signed in June, which requires an end to all military aggression. Iranian officials further added that the United States has attempted to escort commercial vessels through routes outside the maritime corridor designated by Tehran for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting continued Iranian military responses.

Hormuz strategy rooted in earlier military doctrine

The latest escalation follows statements issued on July 14, when Iranian military officials insisted that the Strait of Hormuz would only reopen if Iran's sovereign rights were fully respected and all parties adhered to the Islamabad MoU. Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia warned that any attempt to impose alternative arrangements through military pressure would draw a decisive Iranian response.  

On the same day, senior military adviser Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi said the current Hormuz strategy originated from long-term plans ordered years earlier by the late Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Safavi said the strategy included comprehensive operational planning for the Strait of Hormuz and broader maritime theaters, alongside sustained expansion of Iran's missile capabilities. 

Persian Gulf escalation begins to shape US domestic politics

The Hormuz confrontation has also begun to reverberate inside the United States. As tensions in the Persian Gulf intensify, President Donald Trump is facing mounting domestic political pressure. A new Economist poll conducted between July 10 and 13 found Trump's job approval at just 37 percent, while 59 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance. The survey also showed that more than half of Americans believe the US global influence has weakened during his presidency, underscoring how the escalating confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz is increasingly shaping both US foreign policy and the domestic political landscape ahead of the November midterm elections.

A new survey of 1,100 registered US voters found that rising grocery prices are the leading source of financial stress for American households, with 67% saying the increasing cost of living is placing significant pressure on their finances.

The poll, conducted by Global Strategy Group for The Kitchen Table Project, showed that 82% of respondents believe politicians could lower prices, while majorities across party lines support government action to curb price gouging and anti-competitive corporate practices.

Nearly half of those surveyed blamed tariffs and trade restrictions for rising costs, while 46% pointed to corporate profit-driven price increases. Housing, gasoline, and utility bills were also identified as major financial burdens.

The escalating military confrontation between Iran and the United States in the Strait of Hormuz is increasingly being viewed by international analysts as a defining test not only for Washington's Middle East strategy but also for the political future of the Republican Party ahead of the US midterm elections.

Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, has argued that prolonged military engagements in the Middle East rarely produce political dividends for US administrations unless they deliver swift and decisive results. He notes that sustained instability in global energy markets, combined with rising inflation and fuel prices, tends to shift voters' attention from foreign policy achievements to economic hardship at home.

According to Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz means that any prolonged disruption would inevitably become a domestic political issue in the United States. Haass has repeatedly argued that when overseas conflicts begin to affect American households through higher energy costs and economic uncertainty, they quickly transform into electoral liabilities for the party in power. Fareed Zakaria, CNN's international affairs analyst, has similarly observed that history demonstrates a consistent pattern: American public support for military action declines when conflicts become protracted without a clearly defined political objective. In such circumstances, debates over foreign policy give way to concerns about economic management, inflation, and leadership competence.

Political scientist Francis Fukuyama has also warned that strategic overextension abroad can deepen domestic political polarization. In his assessment, lengthy external confrontations often intensify divisions within governing coalitions, particularly when voters perceive that national resources are being diverted from pressing domestic priorities.

Together, these assessments suggest that the political consequences of the Hormuz confrontation could extend well beyond the battlefield. Should the conflict continue to disrupt global energy supplies, fuel inflation, and dominate the U.S. political agenda, it may increasingly shape voter perceptions of Republican leadership and emerge as one of the decisive factors influencing the party's prospects in the upcoming midterm elections.