Reports have emerged of explosions occurring in the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island, a site noted for containing an underground “missile city.” These incidents coincide with the announcement from the US Central Command that a new series of strikes against Iran’s clerical regime has been conducted.
Recent days have seen a heightened exchange of retaliatory strikes between Iranian and US forces following President Trump’s declaration that the memorandum of understanding between the two countries is void.
There is no current information on possible damage or casualties from the explosions, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency, Mehr.
Strategically, Bandar Abbas is vital due to its location on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Qeshm Island is significant for hosting ballistic missiles and is heavily guarded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran has reportedly claimed, via Mehr, that it successfully shot down a “hostile Lucas-type” American drone over the skies of Bandar Abbas.
It comes as CENTCOM announced American forces had hit “dozens of targets” as part of its latest wave of attacks.
The strikes “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said.
“CENTCOM forces struck Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time,” it added.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it.
“US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations.”
Meanwhile, Tehran says it has targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, and destroyed radar systems in Oman in response.
Tehran has vowed it has closed the strait, which has sent oil prices rising.
Brent crude rose by 3% Monday — although it remains well below peaks reached earlier in the near five-month-old conflict.
Tehran wants to establish a permit system for ships using the vital waterway, but Washington says Tehran “does not control the strait.”
With Post wires.