U.S. and partner forces conducted strikes on Qeshm Island in response to Iranian attacks across the Middle East on Monday, according to U.S. Central Command.
CENTCOM said the operations were in response to Iran launching ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, which were intercepted. Officials said no personnel were harmed. The United States said it had shot down Iranian drones targeting civilian vessels “moments earlier” and targeted a ground station on Qeshm Island.
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Iran said later in the evening that it targeted the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a ship it identified as Panaya in response to the strikes on Qeshm Island and the U.S. disabling a “noncompliant” oil tanker earlier Tuesday. CENTCOM said the tanker was headed toward an Iranian port and ignored warnings from U.S. forces, which have been blockading maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports since mid-April.
CENTCOM said the Botswana-flagged tanker, identified as M/T Lexie, was traveling through international waters toward Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, when it failed to comply with U.S. directives over a 24-hour period.
A U.S. aircraft ultimately fired a Hellfire missile into the vessel’s engine room, disabling the ship and preventing it from reaching Iran.
The tanker was not carrying any cargo at the time, according to CENTCOM.
The incident marks the latest escalation in the U.S.-led effort to isolate Iran economically following months of conflict and increasingly strained peace negotiations. U.S. forces began enforcing a blockade on maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz on April 13.
Since them, American forces have redirected 122 vessels and disabled six commercial ships attempting to reach Iranian ports.
The latest maritime confrontation came as reports emerged of a possible Iranian missile and drone attack targeting what Iranian state media called “noncompliant” U.S. military facilities in Kuwait.
Kuwaiti authorities reported that air defense systems intercepted incoming aerial threats Tuesday evening after sirens sounded across parts of the country. Social media videos showed apparent interceptions over several cities, while local residents reported hearing explosions.
Iranian state media claimed missiles were launched toward Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base, both of which host U.S. military personnel.
President Donald Trump has said peace talks between Washington and Tehran are ongoing, but on Monday, Iran threatened to completely withdraw from negotiations.
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Also on Monday, U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged military strikes in what each labeled as “self-defense” and retaliatory strikes. CENTCOM said U.S. strikes targeted drone “radar and command and control sites.”
Iran responded to the “self-defense” strikes with similar action and said it was targeting “the air base from which the aggression originated.” Tehran warned the U.S. that future strikes would lead to a harsher military response.
