The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it has launched missile and drone strikes against key infrastructure and facilities at US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, describing the operation as the first stage of a “punitive response” to US attacks on Iran.

Iran’s top military command vows that the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces will deliver a “crushing response” to the US’s most recent acts of aggression targeting the country, pledging not to allow Washington to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it struck 85 US military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait with missiles and drones in an initial response to American aggression against Iranian territory.

Millions of mourners have gathered in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbala for the funeral ceremonies of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, with Iraqi authorities reporting attendance in the millions.