The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) claimed on Wednesday that it attacked a US ship in response to a previous US attack on an Iranian tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, in a new offensive round that both sides accuse each other of initiating.
"Last night, the aggressive US military attacked an Iranian tanker near the Strait of Hormuz with an aerial projectile, damaging the engine room. In response (...), the ship Panaya, belonging to the US Zionist enemy, was attacked with naval missiles," the IRGC stated in a communication reported by the Tasnim agency, linked to the elite military body.
The US Central Command (Centcom) reported on Tuesday that it fired a missile at the engine room of a tanker, without cargo and flying the flag of Botswana, heading towards the island of Kharg, Iran's main oil port, within the framework of the ongoing maritime blockade, after the vessel ignored "repeated warnings."
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard also denounced a US attack on one of its communication towers, located on Qeshm Island, in an offensive confirmed by Centcom.
The US military command stated that it attacked this military ground control station after Iran launched ballistic missiles towards neighboring countries, including Kuwait and Bahrain, none of which reached their targets.
The IRGC, on the other hand, claimed to have launched missile and drone attacks against a US airbase and helicopters "located in a country in the region," as well as against the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, in response to the attack on the Qeshm communications tower.