The United States military says it has carried out strikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets in Iran following alleged attacks on commercial shipping and American personnel in the region.
US Central Command said on Tuesday that the operation was launched after what it described as recent attempted attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and normally carries about a quarter of global seaborne oil supplies.
Iranian news agency Fars reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Qeshm. Local officials also reported strikes in the districts of Chabahar and Konarak, according to the agency.
The latest escalation follows US strikes on Sunday against what Washington described as IRGC forces preparing to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz. It was the first reported American military action in the waterway in a month.
The IRGC said the strikes had hit Larak Island and warned that Iran would respond. On Monday, Iranian forces claimed to have attacked two US bases in Jordan and another in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE’s Defence Ministry denied that its Al Menhad air base had been targeted.
Washington rejected Iran’s description of the Sunday operation as an “act of aggression”. CENTCOM said the strikes were intended to stop what it called an “imminent threat” and to protect civilian sailors, commercial vessels and international trade.
“In essence, Iran created the threat and the US military eliminated it,” the command said.
The United States and Iran have been locked in conflict since late February, when Washington and Israel launched their first wave of attacks on Iran. Tehran subsequently restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, turning control of the waterway into one of the most difficult issues in the ongoing peace talks.
