The US military has carried out fresh strikes on Iran, targeting a military site in Bandar Abbas, the strategic port city on the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (Centcom) said its forces also shot down four Iranian one‑way attack drones “that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz.”
The site in Bandar Abbas was struck as it prepared to launch a fifth drone, Centcom added. Iranian media reported explosions to the east of the city, BBC reports.
The strikes come against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, and protracted negotiations to end the three‑month war that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and driven up global energy prices.
It is the second US attack on Iranian targets in three days, with Centcom insisting the operations were conducted in self‑defence. The renewed hostilities threaten to unravel the truce.
Centcom described its actions as “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire.” Earlier this week, the command confirmed a previous round of “self‑defence” strikes on southern Iran, targeting missile sites and boats attempting to lay mines in the Strait, where thousands of commercial tankers remain stranded.
Those strikes, Centcom said, were designed “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
Iran condemned the latest attacks as “a grave violation of the ceasefire” and vowed that the government “will not leave any act of hostility unanswered.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it had downed a US drone and fired at a fighter jet and another drone that entered Iranian airspace, though it did not specify when.
During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump declared that Iran is “negotiating on fumes,” insisting his war strategy will not be influenced by November’s US midterm elections. “Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don’t,” he said. Trump also urged Gulf nations to join the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel.
Israel launched the war against Iran alongside the US on 28 February and remains engaged in fighting with Iranian‑backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump has threatened to resume a large‑scale bombing campaign if Iran does not agree to his terms.
