ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Explosions struck multiple coastal areas across in Iran's southern Hormozgan province Thursday, with state media reporting “hostile projectiles” hitting parts of the province as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated sharply following a day of strikes on naval vessels and oil tankers in regional waters.
“The sounds of several explosions were reported in the coastal areas of Sirik, Qeshm, and Minab County” in the southern Hormozgan province, Fars News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on Thursday.
Fars cited the Hormozgan governor's office as stating that “the source of the sounds came from the direction of the sea.”
The blasts were also confirmed by state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) which reported that several areas in Sirik were hit by “hostile projectiles” without providing further details.
Meanwhile, Tehran’s national Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported that “an explosion was heard from the Strait of Hormuz,” noting that “the nature of the incident or its origin have not yet been announced.”
Earlier on Wednesday Fars said that “an explosion was heard in the southern areas of the port city of Jask, coming from the sea,” adding that “no details are immediately available regarding the source or the exact cause of the explosion.”
Meanwhile, semi-official Mehr News Agency reported late Wednesday that “several explosions were heard in the cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik” in Hormozgan as well.
“According to the Hormozgan governor’s office there were no engagement or injuries in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Sirik, and follow-ups are continuing to obtain more information,” Mehr added.
The developments come a day after the IRGC said Wednesday that it targeted two US vessels, eight oil tankers and ten other ships attempting to cross what it called a “prohibited and unsafe zone” of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement carried by IRNA, the Corps said the attacks were “in response to the aggression” of the US military which struck “five Iranian oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.”
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) also confirmed that its forces “destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers” in regional waters after the IRGC “targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days,” adding that the warship “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks" and that "no American personnel were harmed.”
“Iran has used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” CENTCOM added, noting that its forces had destroyed three other Iranian crude oil carriers on Saturday “after the IRGC tried to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.”
Meanwhile, Jordan said Wednesday it engaged 20 ballistic missiles fired toward its territory from Iran, adding that the majority were intercepted while others landed in remote areas causing minimal damage.
