US targets Iranian missile launch sites and boats, Iran reports explosions at sites along Strait of Hormuz, activates air defenses

US targets Iranian missile launch sites and boats in ‘self-defense’ strikes

 Zachary Cohen

The US military conducted “self-defense strikes” targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz on Monday amid a ceasefire between the two countries and ongoing negotiations to end the war, according to US Central Command.

“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” CENTCOM spokesman Timothy Hawkins told CNN in a statement when asked about explosions reported around the Strait of Hormuz.

“Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” he added.

Some background: US and Iranian forces have previously exchanged fire during the ceasefire. In early May, US forces targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for launching a series of “unprovoked” missile, drone and small boat attacks against American warships transiting the strait.

President Donald Trump previously authorized US forces to respond to Iranian provocations around the key waterway.

Iran reports explosions at sites along Strait of Hormuz, activates air defenses

Three explosions were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a short statement early Tuesday local time citing “sources,” but there was no immediate official confirmation of the cause of the blasts.

In a later statement, the IRGC said the sound of an explosion has been heard near Bandar Abbas airport. Iran’s air defense system in Bandar Abbas “has been activated to counter hostile targets,” the IRGC added.

Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) also reported that the “sound of several consecutive explosions was heard around midnight … in Bandar Abbas city, the cause of which has not yet been announced by official sources.”

Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, citing witnesses, said similar sounds were also reported in the Persian Gulf near Sirik and Jask.

Earlier, Iran’s armed forces said they had destroyed a hostile drone in the Persian Gulf area, the reports said.

Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, the site of a key Iranian naval and air base, is strategically located along the Strait of Hormuz.