Armed Forces strike US vessels in swift retaliation for tanker attack
IRGC Navy: US destroyers flee Hormuz after Iran’s missile, drone barrage
A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on Thursday that Iranian forces gave an immediate and decisive response to a series of US military aggressions in the strategic waters of the Strait of Hormuz and along the country's southern coastline.
In a statement, Ebrahim Zolfaghari noted that the "aggressive, terrorist, and outlaw" US military, in violation of a ceasefire, targeted an Iranian oil tanker.
The vessel was transiting from Iran's coastal waters in the Jask region, heading towards the Strait of Hormuz.
In a separate but simultaneous incident, another Iranian ship came under attack while entering the Strait of Hormuz, directly opposite the UAE's Fujairah port.
Concurrent with these fresh acts of aggression, the spokesperson said that US forces, operating in coordination with certain countries in the region, launched airstrikes against civilian areas in the coastal provinces.
These aerial attacks reportedly targeted locations along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island.
According to the statement, Iran's response was immediate and decisive.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy said its forces inflicted significant damage on US naval assets in a large-scale combined operation on Thursday evening, forcing three American destroyers to flee the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, the commander of the IRGC Navy noted that the operation was launched in response to two provocative actions by the US military.
The first was a violation of the ceasefire involving an attack on an Iranian oil tanker near the port of Jask, which was followed by the approach of US Navy destroyers toward the strategic Strait of Hormuz despite clear warnings against it.
According to the commander, Iranian forces responded to the US military adventurism with "highly extensive and precise combined operation."
The retaliatory operation involved a variety of advanced weaponry, including anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and destructive drones.
He added that the weapons were equipped with high-explosive warheads and were fired directly at the enemy destroyers.
The commander stated that intelligence monitoring conducted by Iranian forces has since confirmed "significant damage" to the American military assets as a result of the strike.
Facing the devastating and precise Iranian firepower, the IRGC Navy commander said, three aggressor enemy vessels "fled the Strait of Hormuz area immediately."