This article is from: srnnews.com
IRGC Claim of 650 US Troops Killed or Wounded Proven False
By Omid Habibinia/The Media Line
As joint US and Israeli strikes continue across dozens of cities, including the Iranian capital, destroying numerous military and security facilities — and even police stations — the spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that 650 American troops were killed or wounded in the war with Iran’s regime.
Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, quoted its spokesperson, Ali Mohammad Naini, around midnight on Monday as alleging that 650 U.S. personnel were killed or wounded during the first two days of the war. He said that 160 American casualties were recorded in “the targeting of a US military headquarters in Bahrain alone.”
The US military has so far confirmed the deaths of only six service members, three of whom were killed in an attack on a US military base in Kuwait. The IRGC spokesperson further claimed that four cruise missiles had been fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln and that IRGC missiles and drones had targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain “on several occasions.” He also alleged that the combat support vessel MST was “severely struck by IRGC naval missiles.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has previously denied that the USS Abraham Lincoln was hit, stating that IRGC missiles did not even come close to US vessels. CENTCOM has also rejected claims that American military bases and equipment in the region sustained heavy damage.
Meanwhile, several media outlets close to the IRGC initially claimed that several US fighter jets that crashed in Kuwait on Monday due to friendly fire had been shot down by Iran. After the circumstances became clear, those reports were deleted.
On Monday, Tasnim News Agency also claimed that following the impact of a Kheibar missile on the Israeli prime minister’s office, “his fate remains uncertain.” At the time, however, Benjamin Netanyahu had already visited the town of Beit Shemesh, which had been targeted by IRGC missiles, and international news networks were broadcasting his appearance there live.
During last year’s 12-day war, state-affiliated media had previously claimed that Israeli fighter jets had been shot down and even asserted that a female Israeli pilot had been captured by army commandos. However, after some time, they walked back the claim, denying that such an assertion had ever been made. The reversal became a prolonged source of satire and mockery among Iranian social media users.
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