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The US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied on Friday the reports of an Iranian attack on al-Tanf base in southeastern Syria, confirming that no US soldier was killed or captured in the area.

In a statement on platform X, CENTCOM said the claims about targeting al-Tanf Garrison and capturing or killing US soldiers are 'untrue,' adding: 'No US troops in the region have recently been killed or captured.'

🚫 CLAIM: Iranian forces claim they attacked al-Tanf Garrison in Syria and captured or killed American troops in the process. FALSE.

✅ FACT: No U.S. troops in the region have recently been killed or captured. pic.twitter.com/8TTHb7qYbT

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 17, 2026

The US denial came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced targeting what it described as an 'operations command center' of US forces in the al-Tanf area. In the same context, a Syrian military source told AFP that al-Tanf area was not subjected to any Iranian shelling, saying: 'We deny any Iranian shelling towards the al-Tanf area.'

Desert area

Another Syrian military source confirmed to the German Press Agency (dpa) that al-Tanf area was not subjected to any missile strikes, explaining that Syrian border guard forces have been deployed at the site since the withdrawal of US forces last February and their move to Tower 22 inside Jordanian territory.

The source added that the area around al-Tanf has become a desert and uninhabited after the departure of the residents of al-Rukban camp, noting that the site currently includes al-Tanf border crossing and some administrative buildings.

Iran has not yet provided evidence to support its claim of targeting the site, while its statements contradict the denials from both US Central Command and Syrian military sources.

Destruction of an Iranian observation tower

On the other hand, US Central Command announced that it destroyed on Thursday the observation tower at Shahid Kalantari port in the Iranian city of Chabahar, saying the tower was part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard for years to monitor and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM added in a statement that destroying the tower 'directly limits the Revolutionary Guard's ability to coordinate attacks against civilian ship crews,' considering that the strike aims to protect freedom of navigation in the territorial waters of all ships, except those attempting to breach the US naval blockade imposed on Iran.

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