American E-3 Sentry aircraft destroyed in IRGC strike
An American E-3 Sentry aircraft was utterly destroyed in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, during the latest round of airstrikes carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on US bases in West Asia.
The crucial E-3 Sentry was one of 16 airborne warning and control system aircraft possessed by the United States, six of which have been deployed to the region amid an ongoing military conflict between Iran and a US-Israeli coalition.
"In response to the hostile actions of the terrorist army of the United States and following the destruction of refueling planes in the air base in Al Kharj, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force conducted a joint missile and drone operational strike, completely destroying at least one E-3 aircraft, also known as AWACS, while causing serious damage to neighboring aircraft," read the IRGC statement on Sunday, following the attacks on Prince Sultan Air Base.
Earlier on Sunday, the IRGC said it targeted two major industrial units "related to American military and aerospace industries in the region."
"The EMAL factory [in Abu Dhabi], with the longest aluminum production line in the world and a production capacity of 1.3 million tons, and [Bahrain's] ALBA aluminum factory, with investment and joint ownership of American companies, play a significant role in the military-industrial products of the US terrorist army," the IRGC statement read.
The attacks came in retaliation for the airstrikes on Iran's industrial infrastructure, namely the Foolad Mobarakeh and Foolad Khuzestan steel companies, located in Isfahan and Ahvaz respectively, on Saturday.
Legitimate targets
All American and Israeli universities in the region will be "legitimate targets" for Iranian forces, the IRGC said on Sunday.
The announcement came after the Science and Technology University in Tehran was attacked by US-Israeli airstrikes on Saturday.
"From now on, all universities of the occupying regime and American universities in the West Asia region will be legitimate targets for us until two universities are hit in retaliation for the destroyed Iranian universities," the announcement No. 50 of Operation True Promise 4 read.
"We advise all staff, professors, and students of American universities in the region, as well as residents nearby, to stay at least one kilometer away from the universities to ensure their safety," added the statement.
The US government will have until 12:00 P.M., Tehran time, on Monday to issue an official statement condemning the bombing of the Iranian universities to avoid airstrikes on its academic centers in the region, the IRGC warned.