Iran hits back after US launches new strikes

Multiple explosions were heard on Tuesday evening across Iran's southern Hormozgan and southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, as US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the start of strikes against targets belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Blasts were heard in the counties of Sirik, Bandar Abbas and Qeshm in Hormozgan, as well as Konarak and Chabahar in Sistan and Baluchestan, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

The exact locations and origins of the blasts remain unknown, it added.

Fars cited Ahmad Nafisi, Hormozgan's deputy governor for political and security affairs, as saying that at least five people, including a four-year-old child and a woman, were killed and over 50 others wounded in the US attack targeting the wedding ceremony in Sirik county.

The semi-official Tasnim News Agency, citing local sources, reported six blasts in Konarak and eight south of Qeshm Island, with unofficial accounts suggesting an explosion from the island's airport.

Meanwhile, Ali Khalilabadi, Sistan and Baluchestan's deputy governor for security and law enforcement affairs, said four projectiles hit Chabahar and Konarak, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

In a Tuesday post on social media platform X, CENTCOM said US forces have begun striking IRGC targets.

"The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region." Tasnim also cited sources claiming that Iran had launched missiles toward US bases in regional countries, though the report has not been officially confirmed yet.

Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement that in response to the US "air aggression," the Iranian armed forces will deal "crushing and shattering" blows to the United States.

The latest strikes have further escalated tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington and Tehran trading accusations and threats of further military action.

IRGC claims beginning retaliation for US strikes The IRGC said on Tuesday night it has started strikes against US bases and assets in the region in retaliation for US attacks.

In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its "regret-inducing response against the aggressors" have begun, noting its air defense had shot down a "hostile" US MQ-9 Reaper drone.

Its aerospace forces also launched ballistic missile and drone strikes on Camp Titin in Jordan and Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, reportedly killing "a large number" of US troops and destroying several key facilities and combat helicopters.