The United States and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes on Wednesday, further intensifying tensions across the Gulf region and raising concerns about the potential for a broader conflict, 24NewsHD TV channel reported.
According to reports, US forces carried out air strikes on a military installation located on Iran's Qeshm Island. The attack came amid escalating hostilities between Washington and Tehran following a series of confrontations in the region.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks targeting American military assets in the Gulf.
Iranian officials said the strikes were aimed at the US Fifth Fleet headquarters, an air base, naval vessels and military helicopters operating in the region.
However, the US military's Central Command, known as CENTCOM, said it had successfully thwarted the Iranian attacks. American officials claimed that missile and drone threats directed at US and allied targets were intercepted before causing significant damage.
Reports also indicated that two missiles fired towards Kuwait failed to reach their target and fell en route. In Bahrain, three missiles were reportedly intercepted and destroyed by joint US and Bahraini air defence systems before they could strike their intended targets.
In a separate development, the US military claimed to have neutralised an oil tanker sailing under the flag of Botswana, although further details regarding the vessel and the circumstances surrounding the incident were not immediately available.
AFP reported that the US military said Tuesday that it had "successfully defeated" a series of Iranian missile and drone attacks in the Gulf and conducted self-defense strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island.
US Central Command also denied claims by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that they had struck the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a separate air base in the region.
"Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets," Centcom said in a statement.
"Two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait fell short or broke apart en route, and three missiles launched at Bahrain were immediately intercepted by US and Bahrain air defense forces."
Kuwait's military said its air defenses were intercepting "hostile" missile and drone attacks.
Later, Centcom said an "additional wave of Iranian drones attempting to attack US forces in Kuwait failed to impact intended targets," with several drones shot down.
The US military also shot down three attack drones that had been launched by Iran "toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters," Centcom said.
Qeshm Island is located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas that has been effectively closed by Tehran since the start of the war with the US and Israel in late February.
Centcom said the strikes had targeted an "Iranian military ground control station" on the island, adding that no US personnel were injured.
In a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency, the Revolutionary Guards claimed they had struck the US military installations in response to the strike on Qeshm Island.
"FALSE," Centcom said in a post on X. "All Iranian attacks on American forces failed."
A ceasefire has been in place between the United States and Iran since April 8, but subsequent talks to try to put a more permanent end to the conflict have so far been unsuccessful.
Tehran said Monday that Israel's expanding campaign in Lebanon risked ending the US-Iran ceasefire.
Earlier, US forces fired a missile at a ship that was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in violation of an American blockade, disabling the vessel.
Washington has now forcibly halted six ships it said were attempting to violate the blockade, which has been in place since April 13.