The US military has launched strikes against Iran in response to "attempted Iranian attacks" on American forces in the Middle East, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The US military added that it targeted dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facilities early on Thursday after what it described as attempted Iranian missile attacks on American forces in the Middle East.
In a statement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces struck military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites, as well as maritime capabilities across Iran.
The operation, it added, was intended to reduce threats posed by Iran and its allied groups to US forces, commercial shipping and neighbouring Gulf countries.
The latest strikes were launched after the IRGC fired multiple ballistic missiles from Iran on July 28 in what it called an attempted surprise attack on US forces stationed in the region, the US military said.
CENTCOM noted that more than 50,000 US service members remain deployed across the Middle East and are on high alert as tensions continue to rise following the latest exchange of attacks.
Iranian state media reported multiple explosions in the country's south, with blasts heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas and more attacks reported on Qeshm Island.
Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks, with Washington carrying out attacks on Iran, and Tehran responding by targeting US military facilities and equipment in countries across the region.
“Hitting them hard”
The latest strikes came hours after a drone struck a US-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker in Egypt.
Earlier in the day, Trump said the US military will hit Iran "hard" after a missile attack against US bases in Jordan, Fox News reported.
"We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating," Fox's correspondent quoted Trump as saying on Wednesday, adding that the US president used swear words to emphasise his point: "We are going to beat the 'effing s' out of them."
Trump also told Fox that US-Saudi bombing of pro-Iranian militias overnight inside Iraq had been coordinated with the authorities in Baghdad, despite the Iraqi government publicly condemning the attacks.
Trump "says those strikes were coordinated with the Iraqi government," the Fox correspondent said after talking with the US leader.
