The United States says it has launched fresh strikes on Iranian military infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions escalate again despite a ceasefire agreement.
Explosions were heard in the southern Iranian city of Sirik on Sunday, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
The broadcaster also said several projectiles targeted a village on Qeshm Island, citing a military official.
The US military said the strikes were launched “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping”.
“US military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities,” the US Central Command said in a statement.
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
The recent strikes come less than a day after the United States and Iran exchanged fire.
“After yesterday’s US strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning,” the US military said.
Iran said on Saturday it had struck targets linked to US forces in response to earlier American air strikes on its southern coast, accusing Washington of violating last week’s agreement aimed at ending the four-month war.
The US rejected that claim, saying its military action was a response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest escalation comes despite a ceasefire that took effect on April 8.
Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of breaching the agreement, while attacks on commercial vessels have continued in and around the strategic waterway, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass.
