Iranian media reported explosions in the vicinity of the port city of Bandar Abbas early Thursday morning.
According to the reports, the country’s air defense systems were activated in the wake of the explosions. The reports further said that four people were injured in the explosions.
A US official later confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the US military carried out new strikes in Iran targeting a military site that officials believed posed a threat to US forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US military also intercepted and shot down multiple Iranian drones that posed a similar threat.
The strikes mark the second time this week that American military forces executed a series of preemptive, defensive airstrikes in Iran, after similar strikes on Monday.
"US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces," CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News after the Monday strikes.
He added, “Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire."
The American confirmation followed a wave of reports across state-controlled Iranian media networks. Tehran's press outlets initially reported that a pair of naval vessels belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been targeted and bombed by American fighter jets during an active deployment in the strategic waters of the Persian Gulf.
According to those Iranian accounts, the targeted tactical engagement resulted in the deaths of four IRGC Navy operatives.
On Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement by striking targets in Iran.
According to the regime's diplomatic apparatus, the United States has persisted in executing what it characterized as “unlawful and unjust actions" since the implementation of the truce.
The Ministry specifically alleged that American forces have committed “numerous maritime robberies" against Iranian commercial vessels, while further asserting that Washington flagrantly violated the ceasefire within Iran’s strategic Hormozgan region over the preceding 28 hours.