IRGC Tells Residents to Leave Areas With US-Israeli Troops

In a message addressed to citizens throughout West Asia, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) declared that it had a duty to destroy US and Israeli “terrorist forces” wherever they were found since they were killing Iranian civilians without distinction and targeting important individuals.

The US and Israeli troops are sheltering behind citizens and employing noncombatants as human shields; the statement, which was posted on Friday, warned locals to evacuate locations where American forces are stationed right away to prevent injury.

“The cowardly American-Zionist forces, who lack the courage and ability to defend their own military bases, out of fear of the fire of the warriors of Islam, are attempting to use civilian locations and innocent people as human shields,” the statement read.

“Since we are obliged to eliminate the terrorist forces of America and the usurping regime wherever we find them, as they recklessly engage in the killing of Iranian civilians and the assassination of key figures, we advise that you urgently leave the locations of American forces so that no harm comes to you.”

The Iranian warning follows a New York Times report that the US military in West Asia is under increasing pressure as a result of persistent Iranian strikes that have made important US bases uninhabitable, forcing soldiers to disperse and conduct operations from “improvised” locations throughout the region.

The publication claims that the change has essentially made some aspects of the US-Israeli terrorist war effort a remote operation, with staff operating away from conventional command centers.

About 40,000 US soldiers were stationed throughout West Asia prior to the start of the conflict. Since then, many have been redeployed, some as far as Europe, while others are still in the area but no longer use established sites.

The Four Seasons and Sheraton hotels in Damascus, as well as a logistics facility close to Beirut’s former airport, are among the civilian locations where US Marines have reportedly set up shop, according to media sources.

According to reports, US Marines were transported this week via Istanbul and Sofia to Djibouti International Airport.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a warning on Thursday to hotels in Persian Gulf Arab nations not to take in US military troops who are escaping their bases and using civilian locations as cover.

“From the outset of this war, US soldiers fled military bases in the GCC (Persian Gulf Cooperation Council) to hide in hotels and offices. They use GCC citizens as human shields,” Araghchi wrote on the social media platform X.

He urged Persian Gulf hotels to follow suit, comparing the situation to American hotels that, he claimed, refuse reservations to officials who would put patrons in danger.

According to an approximate geolocated strike analysis by open-source analyst Fabian Hinz, Iran has attacked 104 American and regional bases.

According to the British daily The Telegraph, American satellite companies have postponed the release of imagery by at least 14 days, making it difficult to evaluate the damage.

According to Hinz, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait has taken the most hits out of all the bases, totaling 23. Following with 17 and 6 geolocated attacks, respectively, are Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring.

The Telegraph said that satellite images from these three locations revealed damage to hangars, fuel depots, satellite equipment, communications infrastructure, and a sizable warehouse after a hit on Ali Al Salem on Wednesday.