Four vessels that tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz were fired upon by Iran’s military and forced to turn around early Thursday morning local time, Iranian state-linked media outlets reported.
“Four vessels attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and enter the Persian Gulf without coordinating with the security forces responsible for the strait,” multiple Iranian state-affiliated media reported on Thursday, citing a military source.
“They were warned, and after ignoring the warning, warning shots were fired toward them, forcing them to turn back,” according to the reports.
The Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported that the IRGC Navy had fired a warning shot at “American oil tanker” forcing it to turn around.
“In response,” Tasnim said, the US military “fired at a barren area near Bandar Abbas,” a strategic port city where explosions were reported early on Thursday morning local time.
A US official earlier told CNN that the US military shot down four Iranian drones and struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
CNN has sought comment from US Central Command about the Iranian media reports that the US strikes were in response to the Iranian action.
A maritime agency that monitors shipping in the waterway, UKMTO, has not yet notified any incidents regarding ships reporting being fired upon Thursday.
Earlier this week: The US also launched strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz.
The US has cast both sets of strikes as being within the bounds of the ceasefire agreement, but Iran condemned the earlier attacks as a violation of the ceasefire and the IRGC warned that it will retaliate against any violations.
US and Iranian forces have previously exchanged fire during the ceasefire.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
