US military strikes sites in Iran as countries exchange fire

(CNN) — US forces targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for launching a series of “unprovoked” missile, drone and small boat attacks against American warships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said on Thursday.

“U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, May 7,” CENTCOM said in a news release.

The Iranian facilities targeted by US forces included “missile and drone launch sites, command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes,” according to CENTCOM.

President Donald Trump warned Iran against escalating tensions further and to sign a deal soon, in a post on Truth Social following the strikes.

“We’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!” he wrote.

“Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!” Trump touted.

A US official told CNN that military strikes were carried out in multiple locations including Bandar Abbas and Qeshm.

“Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No US assets were struck,” the CENTCOM statement added.

A spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces said US airstrikes hit civilian areas along the coasts of Qeshm Island, Bandar Khamir and Sirik.

He also claimed that the US violated the ongoing ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker heading toward the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded with “reciprocal action” by attacking US military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar, the spokesperson said in a video address carried by state media.

Trump called Thursday’s strikes a “love tap” in a phone call with ABC News. “The ceasefire is going. It’s in effect,” he said.

An Iranian state media report said that commercial facilities at the Bahman Pier on Qeshm Island had been targeted in an exchange of fire between Iranian security forces and “the enemy.”

The US and Iran have been exchanging fire in recent days despite the nearly month-old ceasefire. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Iran had attacked US forces more than 10 times since the ceasefire’s start but none of those incidents crossed the threshold of a return to full combat operations.

Both Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stressed that US forces were currently operating in a defensive posture but remain prepared to respond to Iranian attacks amid the fragile ceasefire.

The latest confrontation comes after the US military disabled an Iranian-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday by firing “several rounds” of ammunition from a fighter jet into the ship’s rudder when it attempted to sail towards an Iranian port.

The M/T Hasna, an oil tanker, was in international waters enroute to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman when US forces “issued multiple warnings” telling the ship it was in violation of the ongoing US blockade, CENTCOM said at the time.

In its statement, US Central Command said that the US forces do “not seek escalation” but that the military is “ready to protect American forces.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this story.

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