Iran keeps targeting U.S. bases as U.S. interceptor stockpiles dwindle

Video appears to show at least one drone being intercepted Friday near a U.S. base in northern Iraq, as a series of explosions were heard in the area.

A clip posted on X by Kurdish broadcaster Rudaw shows a drone buzzing through the sky before it is struck and falls to the ground in a ball of flames.

A series of explosions was heard near Erbil airport, which hosts American forces at Erbil Air Base as well as an American consulate.

It is the same base where the Pentagon said U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed on Sunday during the "controlled detonation" of a downed Iranian attack drone.

An AFP news agency journalist said the explosions were heard after air defenses were activated. They also reported seeing drones flying above the city and smoke near the airport.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday warned civilians in the Middle East to stay away from U.S. bases.

"We warn the general public in countries where American soldiers are stationed to immediately stay out of a radius of 500 meters [yards] from the places where American soldiers are hiding, in order to be safe," the IRGC said in a statement.

The warning came after several Persian Gulf states and Jordan reported ongoing Iranian missile and drone attacks, with interceptions also being reported near a major U.S. base in Erbil, northern Iraq.

The United States has struck an Iranian Revolutionary Guards' (IRGC) base in the northern province of Gilan, according to a statement from the local governor's office.

The U.S. struck the IRGC's Seyyed al-Shuhada naval headquarters in Zibanekar on Friday morning, according to the statement.

Ali Bagheri, deputy governor for the province, told state media that the strike "damaged some of the equipment in the complex."

Iran's military said on Friday it carried out drone strikes against several American military facilities and bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for the latest U.S. attacks, while explosions were heard near an American base in northern Iraq.

"This morning, the fuel tanks, large equipment warehouses and silos and the barracks of the U.S. terrorist army forces at the Isa Air Base in Bahrain were targeted by Arash kamikaze drones," the army said in a statement carried by state TV. Bahrain's interior ministry said on Friday that air raid sirens were sounding.

The Iranian army also claimed drone attacks against Jordan, targeting "aircraft hangars, aviation maintenance hangars and a barracks" at Al-Azraq base.

In a separate statement, the Iranian army said it had launched drones at U.S. equipment wa