Shafaq News- Washington

The United States on Wednesday disclosed that its forces carried out “self-defense” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, a strategic island at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, and “defeated” multiple Iranian missiles and drones after “civilian vessels and regional allies” came under attack.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), Tehran targeted civilian commercial vessels transiting territorial waters with three drones, while two missiles launched toward Kuwait fell short of their intended target, and three others directed at Bahrain were intercepted.

It also rejected Iranian claims that the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Manama had been struck, describing them as “unfounded.”

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA reported that the country’s air defense systems neutralized several missiles and drones targeting multiple areas across the capital. No further details were provided on the origin of the attack, casualties, or material damage.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack, pointing out that it hit with missile and drone strikes the headquarters of the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet and a US air and helicopter base in a regional country on Wednesday, “in direct retaliation for a US strike on an IRGC communications tower on the southern coast of Qeshm Island.”

Today’s exchange marked the latest in a series of sporadic confrontations since a ceasefire took effect in early April. A similar round of attacks took place on Monday.