The US military carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, three US officials told CNN, describing the action as defensive and meant to protect US assets in the region.
One official said the strikes came in response to Iran firing at a US aircraft. Another official said the move was a defensive measure against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets. The Wall Street Journal first reported the strikes.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it shot down two US drones south of Qeshm Island, according to Tasnim, an Iranian news agency close to the Guard. Iran’s state-affiliated Fars News Agency reported several explosions heard on Qeshm Island in the early hours of Tuesday local time.
Qeshm sits about 14 miles from Bandar Abbas, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. The island holds a large underground missile site, a naval base and a major desalination plant, and the US has targeted it before during the war, according to the Journal.
The Pentagon referred questions to US Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials said the strikes were limited and did not mark a resumption of major combat operations, and the administration kept them unannounced to avoid signalling a return to large-scale fighting.
Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday after reports of the strike, Reuters reported, with Brent crude up 0.5 percent to $105.25 a barrel.
Source: USA Today
