Explosions reported across Iran as US completes latest wave of strikes

Explosions have been reported in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island – which is home to an underground “missile city” – Monday – as US Central Command announced forces had completed another wave of strikes against the clerical regime. 

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Iranian and US forces have been exchanging retaliatory strikes in recent days after President Trump declared the memorandum of understanding between the two nations dead.

It’s not known if the blasts caused any damage or casualties, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr. 

Bandar Abbas is strategically important as it’s located on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz. Qeshm Island, which is surrounded by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is a key location where the regime houses ballistic missiles.

Iran has claimed it has shot down a “hostile Lucas-type” American drone over Bandar Abbas, according to Mehr.

It comes as CENTCOM announced American forces had hit “dozens of targets” as part of its latest wave of attacks.

The strikes “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said. 

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“CENTCOM forces struck Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time,” it added.

“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it.

“US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations.”

Meanwhile, Tehran says it has targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, and destroyed radar systems in Oman in response.

Tehran has vowed it has closed the strait, which has sent oil prices rising.

Brent crude rose by 3% Monday — although it remains well below peaks reached earlier in the near five-month-old conflict.

Tehran wants to establish a permit system for ships using the vital waterway, but Washington says Tehran “does not control the strait.”

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With Post wires.