US forces began another round of strikes against Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a post on X/Twitter on Thursday night, marking the 13th night of attacks against the country.
The strikes are "aimed to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping," the post said.
Iranian air defenses were activated in the capital city of Tehran on Friday morning, to counter "hostile threat," Iran's semi-official Nour News reported.
As CENTCOM announced the beginning of another night of strikes, reports came from Iran of explosions near Mesen, a village located on the southern coast of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz, and south of the Larak and Hengam Islands, close to the Strait of Hormuz.
IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency had said the explosions were caused by American missiles.
Iranian media also reported explosions in Ahvaz, a city in southern Iran, and in an area west of Bandar Abbas, a port city occupying a strategic position in the Strait of Hormuz.
Also on Friday, Iranian state media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said in a post on X/Twitter that an American Tomahawk missile had been intercepted and destroyed over the central Iranian city of Kahnuj. CENTCOM has not responded to the claims.
Earlier this month, explosions were reported near Qeshm, an island in close proximity to major shipping routes, following US strikes meant to degrade Iran's “ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz," according to a US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement.
This is a developing story.