US carries out ‘self-defense’ airstrikes on Iran threatening fragile ceasefire

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The U.S. has carried out “self-defense” airstrikes against Iran, threatening a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

The strikes targeted missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil passageway in the Middle East that Iran has effectively closed amid the war, according to the U.S. Central Command.

“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” CENTCOM spokesperson Tim Hawkins told the media.

“Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines,” the captain added.

The U.S. has carried out 'self-defense' airstrikes against Iran, threatening a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran — The U.S. has carried out ‘self-defense’ airstrikes against Iran, threatening a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran (Getty Images)

Two Iranian boats were caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a senior US official told Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin.

“The US military eliminated both IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] vessels and also struck at a SAM (surface to air missile) site in Bandar Abbas that was targeting US warplanes,” Griffin wrote in an X post.

While two of Griffin’s sources said the strikes do not indicate the ceasefire is broken, it’s the latest example of the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Iran amid the nearly three-month war.

This is a developing story…