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The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday confirmed that Iranian forces launched missiles, drones and small boat attacks targeting US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz while stating that no US assets were hit during the incident.
In a statement, the Central Command said that American naval forces intercepted what it described as "unprovoked Iranian attacks" and carried out self-defence strikes while US Navy destroyers were moving through the Strait of Hormuz en route to the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM said the vessels involved included USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87), which were transiting the international sea passage when Iranian forces reportedly launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats. It further stated that the US forces neutralised incoming threats and also targeted Iranian military infrastructure allegedly involved in the attacks, including missile and drone launch sites, command-and-control facilities, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes. "No US assets were struck. US Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces, including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes," the statement read. The US military added that it "does not seek escalation" but remains prepared to defend American forces in the region. This comes after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command, in a series of posts on X, claimed that US naval vessels were targeted following what it described as a violation of a ceasefire and an earlier attack on an Iranian oil tanker near Jask port in southern Iran. The IRGC alleged that a coordinated operation involving anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and suicide drones was carried out against US destroyers, claiming "significant damage" and asserting that American vessels retreated from the Strait of Hormuz. "Following the violation of the ceasefire and the terrorist U.S. army's aggression against an Iranian oil tanker of the Islamic Republic of Iran near Jask port, and the approach of the terrorist U.S. army's destroyers to the Strait of Hormuz, during a highly extensive and precise combined operation employing various types of anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles as well as suicide drones," the post read. "With intense explosive warheads, fire was executed toward the enemy destroyers. Intelligence surveillance indicates significant damage to the American enemy, and three enemy invading ships quickly fled the Strait of Hormuz area," it added. The Iranian claims come a day after the US Naval Forces fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as part of its ongoing naval blockade against the Islamic Republic, claiming that the vessel failed to comply with the instructions from the American forces in the region. According to a statement released by US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday, US forces acted after the vessel, identified as M/T Hasna, did not comply despite repeated warnings while transiting international waters toward an Iranian port. (ANI)
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