TEHRAN— Iran has significantly expanded its military response to renewed US operations in and around the Persian Gulf, combining retaliatory drone strikes, air defense operations and tighter control over the Strait of Hormuz in a coordinated campaign to impose mounting costs on Washington while preserving their own military resources.

The latest exchanges come after the collapse of the ceasefire understanding between Tehran and Washington, with hostilities spreading across southern Iran and to US military facilities in the Persian Gulf, underscoring the growing risk of a broader regional confrontation.

According to Iranian military statements, US forces launched overnight strikes against several locations in southern Iran, including Qeshm, Sirik and Bandar Abbas, continuing a campaign that US officials have previously said is intended to degrade Iran's military, logistical and maritime infrastructure.

Iran responded by announcing successive phases of Operation Thunderbolt, targeting two key American military facilities in Kuwait with explosive drones. The Iranian Army said ammunition depots, radar installations, logistics infrastructure and personnel facilities at Camp Udairi and Ali Al-Salem Air Base were struck in retaliation for repeated US attacks that have killed civilians and damaged bridges, transportation infrastructure and other non-military sites across Iran.

The Army described Camp Udairi as one of Washington's principal regional logistics centers and Ali Al-Salem as a critical hub for deploying US forces across West Asia, arguing that disrupting their operations would complicate American military support throughout the region.

The new balance of deterrence

The drone strikes coincided with another development highlighting Iran's growing emphasis on asymmetric warfare.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that its Aerospace Force had shot down a US MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle over Ahvaz using 'a newly deployed advanced air-defense system' operating within Iran's integrated air-defense network.

The destruction of the reconnaissance drone would represent another example of Iran's strategy of using comparatively inexpensive indigenous air-defense systems to neutralize sophisticated American military assets costing tens of millions of dollars.

Military analysts have long viewed this cost-imposition strategy as one of Tehran's principal deterrence tools. Rather than matching the United States platform for platform, Iran has invested heavily in domestically produced drones, layered air-defense systems, electronic warfare capabilities and precision missiles designed to inflict disproportionate operational and financial costs on technologically superior adversaries.

That approach has become increasingly visible during the current confrontation, with Iranian officials repeatedly emphasizing that relatively low-cost drones and missiles can threaten strategic facilities, air-defense systems and logistics hubs that require vastly greater investment to build, operate and defend.

Iran's retaliatory campaign has underscored the central role of its missile and drone forces in its military doctrine. Iranian officials argue that the country's expanding arsenal of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and long-range drones enables it to strike U.S. military installations across the Persian Gulf, including bases hosted by regional allies, while complicating American operational planning. Tehran has consistently portrayed these capabilities as the cornerstone of its deterrence strategy and a means of imposing substantial military and economic costs on any adversary contemplating a prolonged conflict.

The latest exchanges have reinforced the importance of precision-guided, relatively low-cost weapons in modern warfare. Rather than seeking conventional military parity with the United States, Iran has invested heavily in indigenous missile technology, mobile launch platforms, and layered strike capabilities designed to challenge technologically superior forces. Military analysts note that such asymmetric capabilities can increase the risks and operational burden for an opponent by threatening high-value military assets spread across the region.

Anthony H. Cordesman, the defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), believes that Iran's missile force constitutes one of the most significant elements of its conventional deterrence.

Cordesman wrote that Iran has developed "the largest and most diverse missile force in the Middle East," arguing that its missile arsenal serves as the backbone of Tehran's conventional deterrence strategy by enabling it to threaten military bases, critical infrastructure, and regional force deployments despite the United States' overwhelming conventional military superiority.

The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has also released a report on Iran’s military power, saying that Tehran has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East, which it uses alongside unconventional warfare and cyber techniques to project power.

Iranian commanders argue that such asymmetry reduces Washington's military advantages while increasing the economic and operational burden of sustaining prolonged military operations in the region.

Senior Iranian officials also projected confidence that the current campaign has strengthened Tehran's deterrence posture.

Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Major General Ali Abdollahi warned that any act of covetousness, coercion, hegemonic ambition, or brutality by the US forces will be met with a decisive and devastating response and also would trigger a "decisive and devastating response," saying Iran's Armed Forces were prepared to impose costs exceeding those sustained by Washington during previous rounds of conflict.

He reaffirmed the military's allegiance to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei and said preserving national unity remained a central element of Iran's defense strategy.

Unforgettable Lessons

The Leader himself delivered a similar message a day earlier.

In a nationwide address marking the funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khamenei said Washington's violation of its bilateral understanding with Tehran had once again demonstrated that the US president's signature was "worthless and unreliable."

He praised 'the Iranian nation's unity and resilience' during recent weeks and warned that any further escalation by the United States would be met by Iran and the Resistance Front with "unforgettable lessons."

The remarks reflected Tehran's broader effort to present military resistance alongside domestic cohesion as mutually reinforcing pillars of national security.

Alongside military operations, Iran has also tightened its control over one of the world's most strategically important maritime chokepoints.

The IRGC Navy announced Sunday that two commercial vessels suffered 'accidents' after attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through an unauthorized route while allegedly switching off their navigation systems. According to the force, two additional vessels abandoned the route after receiving warnings from Iranian naval units.

The IRGC reiterated that shipping through the Strait must comply with routes designated by Iranian authorities, declaring that no oil, gas or fertilizer shipments would pass through the waterway without prior coordination and authorization.

The statement reinforced Tehran's repeated assertion that it now exercises effective operational control over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of globally traded crude oil normally passes.

The convergence of drone operations, integrated air defenses and maritime control illustrates Iran's broader military doctrine, which prioritizes asymmetric capabilities capable of challenging conventionally superior adversaries at comparatively low cost.

While the United States continues to field advanced aircraft, missile-defense systems and naval assets worth billions of dollars, Iranian officials argue that domestically manufactured drones, mobile missile units and indigenous air-defense systems have enabled Tehran to sustain pressure on American forces without engaging in direct conventional warfare on equal terms.

Whether that strategy ultimately alters the military balance remains contested. However, the latest exchanges suggest that Iran continues to rely on cost-efficient deterrence designed to complicate US military planning, increase operational expenses, and demonstrate that technologically superior forces remain vulnerable to persistent asymmetric attacks.

With both sides continuing military operations following the collapse of the ceasefire, the Persian Gulf remains one of the world's most volatile flashpoints, where each new exchange carries the risk of triggering a wider regional conflict.