Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has unleashed what it calls its 23rd wave of retaliation in the war, firing next‑generation Fattah hypersonic and heavy Khorramshahr ballistic missiles at US bases scattered across the Gulf, defence officials say.

Just after 2:00 a.m. local time, sirens screamed over Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as radars picked up launches from western and southern Iran. Patriot, THAAD and Aegis systems roared into action, streaks of white exhaust cutting across the night as batteries tried to swat down missiles diving in at extreme speed and steep angles.

Early ᴀssessments say most of the salvo was intercepted, but not all. At least one Khorramshahr‑class warhead detonated near a logistics yard linked to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, flipping vehicles and shredding warehouses. In the UAE, debris from a suspected Fattah strike slammed into a fuel storage area serving a joint US‑Emirati facility, igniting tanks and sending a column of black smoke over the coast. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia report “limited penetrations” near training areas and support compounds, with multiple US and coalition troops wounded.

Tehran is hailing the operation as proof its “monster missiles” can still reach America’s forward fortresses despite days of US‑Israeli air raids on Iranian launch sites. US Central Command counters that defences “performed under intense pressure,” but privately concedes that Fattah’s manoeuvring flight path and the Khorramshahr’s mᴀssive payloads are stretching interception systems to their limits.

As daylight reveals scorched depots, cratered yards and nervous troops filing back into bunkers, Gulf capitals and Washington face a stark question: if this is wave twenty‑three, how many more can come before one night’s barrage turns from a contained shock into a region‑wide catastrophe?