US attacks Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz

The United States has carried out new attacks on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, escalating a confrontation that has already put commercial shipping and American troops in the region under threat.

US Central Command said on X that the strikes came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, recently attempted to attack commercial shipping in the strait and US personnel in the region. The statement presented the attacks as a response to those incidents.

Iranian media reported explosions on Qeshm island, near the strait. Reuters cited those reports, while Swedish news agency TT, referring to Iran’s state-run Fars news agency, reported additional explosions near the major port city of Bandar Abbas and in Sirik.

Earlier on Tuesday, two large oil tankers traveling out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz were hit by unknown projectiles. The report did not identify who fired them.

The latest strikes followed a US bombing raid overnight on Monday against Iranian launch sites on Larak island in the strait. That attack marked the first US strike on Iran since late July. Washington said Iran had been preparing to mine the Strait of Hormuz again. The IRGC responded with drone and missile attacks on US targets in Jordan, causing oil prices to rise.

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The attacks came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recently attempted to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American soldiers in the region.