Iran used its new electro-optical missiles for the first time in an attempted attack on US warships on Wednesday, officials claimed, as part of Tehran’s retaliation campaign against American vessels in the region.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard fired a wave of strikes overnight targeting US forces in Jordan and 10 US ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
The attempted attack on the ships allegedly utilized Iran’s electro-optical seekers, missiles that use cameras and light sensors to track and hit targets with great precision, The Telegraph reported.
US Central Command confirmed the strikes, but officials noted that the attack failed along with the one in Jordan, where the Iranian missiles were intercepted.
The strikes came in response to America’s own retaliatory strikes that took out five oil tankers near the regime’s Kharg Island oil hub.
“In response to the US’s aggressive actions against Iranian oil tankers, armed forces, in accordance with their inherent right of legitimate defence, attacked US military bases and facilities located in Jordan, which continues to support US military attacks against Iran, as well as several US vessels,” it said.
Iran had teased the development of the new missile system late last year, dubbing it the Qassem Bassir, a medium-range ballistic missile outfitted with the sensors.
The regime claimed at the time that the missile’s sensors allowed it to be highly precise while avoiding GPS altogether, making the missile harder to be taken down by jamming systems.
Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s newly installed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, suggested a new “special anti-destroyer” missile debuted in Wednesday’s strike, hailing it as part of his new approach in the country’s defense policy.
It was not immediately clear if the Qassem Bassir weapon was the new missile used to target the US ships in the overnight attack.
The IRGC also warned of imminent strikes on oil tankers and bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, calling on all crew to evacuate the ships immediately.
The surge in tit-for-tat strikes and coinciding strikes on tankers in the region have raised alarms over the safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz, which oversees 20% of the world’s oil transports.
The attacks, coupled with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ strike on Saudi oil facilities, caused the price of crude to shoot above $100 per barrel for the first time since July.
With Post wires
The post Iran fires electro-optical missile for first time — aiming at US warships: report appeared first on New York Post.
