SRINAGAR: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced that the Strait of Hormuz has been “closed to all vessels” following fresh US strikes on Iran, warning that any ship attempting to pass through the strategic waterway could be targeted, according to CNN.
“Effective immediately, due to insecurity in the region, the Strait of Hormuz is declared closed to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships,” the IRGC said in a statement posted on its official Telegram channel and cited by CNN.
The statement further warned that “any vessel attempting to transit the strait will be targeted”.
According to Al Jazeera, citing Iranian media reports, heavy clashes and exchanges of fire have taken place in the Strait of Hormuz between US forces and naval units of the IRGC.
Iranian media reports, cited by Al Jazeera, said US forces had struck seven coastal locations, including areas in and around Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Qeshm Island and Hengam Island.
The IRGC Navy also claimed that two vessels attempting to “illegally” transit the Strait of Hormuz had been struck.
Meanwhile, Press TV reported that two residents of Kargan in Minab County were injured by shrapnel following a US strike.
Al Jazeera, quoting Iran’s Mehr News Agency, reported fresh explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, stating that the blasts were linked to an incident in the eastern part of the city.
Further explosions were reported in several other locations, including the southern towns of Sirik and Minab, as well as Qeshm Island and the northern city of Gorgan, according to Iranian media reports.
Separately, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had begun carrying out additional self-defence strikes against multiple targets in Iran.
CENTCOM said the strikes were launched in response to what it described as continued and “unwarranted” Iranian aggression.
In a post on X, the official CENTCOM account said: “U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defence strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
The developments come amid sharply escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, with conflicting claims emerging over the status of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. While Iranian authorities have declared the waterway closed, US Central Command has disputed those claims and said commercial shipping continues to transit the strait.
