iran us forces collided in the strait of Hormuz on Friday after US Central Command said three US Navy guided-missile destroyers intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and replied with self-defense strikes. US Central Command said no US assets were struck, but the exchange put the waterway at the center of a new military confrontation involving US and Iranian forces.
Centcom Says It Hit Iranian Facilities
US Central Command said Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as the three US destroyers transited the waterway. US Central Command said it eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.
The command also used the phrase “unprovoked Iranian attacks” and said its response consisted of “self-defense strikes.” Those strikes, according to US Central Command, came while the ships were moving through one of the region’s most closely watched shipping lanes.
Iran Names Two Ships
Iran accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships in the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. Tawfiq al-Hakim, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the US targeted an Iranian oil tanker travelling from Iran’s coastal waters near Jask toward the strait of Hormuz and another vessel entering the strait near the Emirati port of Fujairah.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters also said, “At the same time, with the cooperation of some regional countries, they carried out air attacks on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island.” Iran’s armed forces said they responded by attacking US military vessels, “reportedly inflicting significant damage on them,” while Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that three US Navy destroyers near the strait of Hormuz were targeted by the Iranian navy.
Iranian Reports In Bandar Abbas
Iran’s state broadcaster said “enemy units” operating in the area of the strait of Hormuz came under Iranian missile fire after an attack by the US military on an Iranian oil tanker. Iran’s state broadcaster said the enemy units retreated. The same day, Iran’s Mehr news agency said air defences were activated in western Tehran and reported explosions in Bandar Abbas and Minab, east of Bandar Abbas.
Fars news agency said Iran’s armed forces exchanged fire with enemy forces attacking Bahman pier on Qeshm Island. The reports pointed to a wider set of incidents than the exchange in the strait itself, but the claims came from Iranian state media and Iranian military-linked outlets rather than from US Central Command.
The next likely point of movement is the response from military and political authorities in both countries, after US Central Command said it had struck Iranian military facilities and Iran’s armed forces said they had answered with attacks on US military vessels. For readers tracking traffic through the strait of Hormuz, the immediate fact is that the transit lane through which three US destroyers passed became the scene of direct claims of attack, counterattack and damage.
