CENTCOM Strikes IRGC Mine-Laying Boats and Bandar Abbas SAM Site Overnight
US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said American forces “conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces”. The targets “included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines”. Two Iranian boats were caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a senior US official said; the US military eliminated both IRGC vessels and also struck a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas that Hawkins said was targeting US warplanes. “US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Hawkins said.
Bandar Abbas is Iran’s primary naval station. Multiple reports said at least two boats linked to the IRGC were destroyed during the operation. Several explosions were reported close to Sirik and Jask, two coastal cities along the strait and Gulf of Oman, earlier on Monday. The strikes are the most serious US kinetic action since the April 7 ceasefire began — and the strongest signal yet that the US naval blockade remains operational pending a signed agreement. US officials said the strikes do not indicate the collapse of the framework deal currently under negotiation. The Iranian mine-laying activity — if confirmed — is itself a ceasefire violation that the US framing answered with a proportional, “defensive” strike package designed to preserve the negotiating track.