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World
Fox News reports US military strikes on Iran's Bandar Abbas and Qeshm ports, while Iran's state media describes explosions and warning shots.
Explosions rocked the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas and the island of Qeshm on Thursday, following US military strikes, according to a senior American official cited by Fox News. The official clarified that the strikes do not signify a resumption of war or an end to the ceasefire declared on April 7.
The attacks come as Washington awaits Tehran's response to a US proposal aimed at halting hostilities between the two nations, while leaving the most contentious issues, such as Iran's nuclear program, unresolved for now.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran's Fars news agency reported that residents of Bandar Abbas heard multiple explosions in the evening, though the nature or source of the sounds remained unclear. The agency noted that local authorities had yet to determine the exact location or cause of the noises.
Later, Iran's Tasnim news agency stated that explosions were heard in both Bandar Abbas and the vicinity of Qeshm Island. Tasnim attributed the sounds to an operation by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' naval force, describing them as warnings issued to vessels attempting "illegal crossings" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tasnim added that investigations were ongoing to pinpoint the exact source of the sounds and fully clarify the circumstances, with further information to be released as it becomes available.
In a related development, Iran's state broadcasting authority quoted a military official as saying that Iranian missiles targeted American units in the Strait of Hormuz, following a US military attack on an Iranian oil tanker.
The US Central Command had announced on Wednesday that it had targeted an Iranian oil tanker while it was transiting international waters. In a statement, the command said the vessel was en route to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman, and that US forces issued several warnings, informing it of a violation of the US embargo.
The statement added that US forces then fired projectiles, disabling the Iranian tanker's rudder, and that the vessel was "no longer heading to Iran."
