The US military on Tuesday hit targets related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, even as Iranian state television reported explosions in the country's south.
Iran's state television said multiple blasts were heard in the east of Bandar Abbas and around Qeshm Island, adding that “no incidents or damage have been reported” yet in the southern Hormozgan Province, AFP reported.
This came a day after a report suggested that US President Donald Trump was mulling limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz. Following the strikes on Tuesday, Trump warned Iran against retaliating, threatening “much harder” action if they do.
“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!” Trump said.
US CENTCOM says striking IRGC targets
The US Central Command, in a post on X, said American forces began striking targets in Iran at 12 pm ET.
“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,” the CENTCOM said.
{{/usCountry}}“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,” the CENTCOM said.
{{/usCountry}}Report indicated Trump was weighing limited strikes on Iran
An Axios report had on Monday suggested that Trump and his senior aides were considering waging limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from reconstituting its radar and missile capabilities to attack ships. The plan had been developed over the past week by the US CENTCOM, with the support of defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
“The President retains all options at his disposal. The Iranians want to make a deal, but they are always a day late and a dollar short,” Axios cited a US official as saying.
US, Iran exchange fire over the weekend
The United States on Sunday (August 30) carried out its first known strikes on Iran in several weeks, hitting an Iranian island in Hormuz. Washington said its forces had attacked Iranian rocket launchers on the Larak Island to prevent Tehran planting mines in the key shipping lane, AFP reported.
Iran retaliated by attacking US military targets in the Middle East, with Jordan and United Arab Emirates saying they had intercepted missile and drone strikes.
Trump's ‘hit them hard’ warning
Trump had on Monday vowed a response to Iranian attacks on American forces, while referring to the country as a “failed nation.” Speaking to Fox News, the US President said America would “hit Iran hard”.
“We're going to hit them hard…There will be a response,” Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst. Later, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “IT (Iran) IS DEAD! They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police."
He further alleged that the Iranian leadership “is in disarray and incapable of properly representing the country.”
Iran President says country would return to June ceasefire if US does
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said the country was ready to return to the terms of the ceasefire framework agreed to in June if Washington does the same.
“If the US returns to its commitments in the memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate,” Iranian state media cited Pezeshkian as saying at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.