The United States carried out a series of military strikes early Tuesday in southern Iran, targeting Iranian vessels and missile infrastructure that American officials said posed an immediate danger to U.S. forces operating near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to American officials, the action was described as a defensive response intended to neutralize threats coming from Iranian military assets during the fragile ceasefire period.

“US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said.

“US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” he added.

Fox News, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that American forces detected two Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz allegedly attempting to deploy naval mines. The same official said U.S. aircraft also came under threat after an Iranian missile installation targeted American warplanes operating in the area.

In response, the U.S. military reportedly destroyed both vessels belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The official also said the United States struck an Iranian surface-to-air missile position in Bandar Abbas after Iranian outlets reported blasts in the city earlier in the day.

Additional explosions were also reported near the coastal areas of Sirik and Jask, both situated close to the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

American officials emphasized that the attacks were intended as limited defensive operations rather than a renewed escalation of the broader conflict. One official told Fox News that the mission was “defensive,” while two other sources stressed that the military action should not be interpreted as the collapse of the ceasefire arrangement with Iran.

Reports of explosions across multiple locations near the Strait of Hormuz had already surfaced Monday night, according to Fox. A senior official later told the network that the U.S. military operation was “over for now.”

{Matzav.com}