Middle East Heats Up: US Strikes Hit Island Near Strait of Hormuz

Several Iranian news agencies have reported that the United States launched strikes around the island of Qeshm in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions between Washington and Tehran flare up again. Fars news agency reported “American missile strikes around Qeshm”, citing local authorities, while Tasnim said one of its correspondents reported locations around the island were “hit by projectiles from the American enemy”. Iranian state television also reported that the port city of Bandar Abbas was targeted by “American enemy aggression” on Thursday evening. The renewed fighting between the long-time adversaries comes a month after the signing of a preliminary agreement aimed at ending the conflict, which erupted in late February with a massive US-Israeli attack on Iran. Tehran had previously warned it would target infrastructure across the region if President Donald Trump followed through on threats to strike power plants and bridges in Iran. This followed a fresh exchange of attacks between the two sides. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it struck a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what it described as an American strike near a children’s cancer hospital in the Islamic republic. Kuwait and Bahrain also reported incoming aerial attacks.