AhlulBayt News Agency: The United States has resumed unwarranted acts of aggression against southern Iran, despite an earlier warning by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy that Washington must not use the Islamic Republic's justified closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a pretext for such aggression.
The attacks were announced by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday. CENTCOM said it had launched strikes on the orders of US President Donald Trump with the self-described objective of reducing Iran's ability to control the Strait of Hormuz.
Shortly before the announcement, residents in the southern port cities of Asalouyeh and Bandar Dayyer of the Bushehr Province reported hearing several explosions, according to Fars News Agency. The exact locations of the blasts were not immediately determined.
A correspondent with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the national broadcaster, later confirmed that three explosions had occurred in Bandar Abbas and another three in the coastal city of Sirik in the province of Hormozgan.
Additional explosions were also reported along the Hormozgan coastline, with residents in Minab and Jask saying they heard multiple blasts.
In southeastern Iran, an IRIB correspondent said the explosion heard in Chabahar originated from an explosion in the vicinity of Konarak.
A deputy governor in the southwestern Khuzestan Province also reported that enemy projectiles had struck parts of the province. According to the official, the cities of Hendijan, Mahshahr, and Abadan were hit by the projectiles.
Emergency response teams and technical experts were dispatched to assess the extent of the incidents, while authorities said further information on material damage and any casualties or injuries would be announced after assessments were completed.
The attacks followed a warning issued by the IRGC Navy after it announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz "until further notice."
In a statement issued on Saturday, the IRGC Navy had said the strategic waterway would remain closed until "the United States ends its intervention in the region."
The force also warned against any further military aggression against Iran under the pretext of the waterway's closure.
"Should the aggressor enemy exploit this development, which it, itself, has caused, as a pretext for committing another act of aggression against us, it will be met with a forceful response, and additional enemy bases in the region will be targeted," the statement added.
The closure came after the IRGC Navy was forced to fire a warning shot at a trespassing vessel trying to cross the strait through an unauthorized route.
Iran has mandated that transit through the chokepoint be conducted only in coordination with the Islamic Republic’s authorities and along the corridor designated the country.
Tehran designated the waterway in retaliation against the United States’ and its allies’ efforts to manipulate maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.
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