The United States carried out new strikes targeting two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boats and a surface-to-air missile site in southern Iran, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
CENTCOM said the Monday strikes came in response to Iranian activity over a 24-hour period that included missile launches, drone operations and small boat movements near the Strait of Hormuz. Those boats, they said, were capable of laying mines that could threaten U.S. ships and aircraft.
“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” CENTCOM Spokesperson U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said. “U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”
The Tasnim news agency reported that three explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, a southern port city on the Strait of Hormuz that is home to an Iranian naval base. The Fars news agency said similar sounds were heard near Sirik and Jask, close to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian news website Tabnak identified four dead Guard troops it said were killed in U.S. strikes on IRGC boats.
CENTCOM stressed the strikes did not indicate that the ceasefire with Iran had ended.
Meanwhile, Iran on Tuesday said it had shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Persian Gulf. It was not immediately clear whether the incident occurred before or after the U.S. strikes. CENTCOM has not commented on the claim.
🚨 BREAKING
Iranian Armed Forces:
“We shot down an MQ9 drone in the Persian Gulf”— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) May 26, 2026
The destruction of the American MQ9 in the Persian Gulf this morning by the Iranian defense pic.twitter.com/51rJhx1roX
— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) May 26, 2026
“Any hostile action against Iran will be met with a reciprocal response,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement. “No country can take unilateral, illegal measures and expect Iran to remain passive.”
The strikes come amid continuing ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said that a potential agreement with Iran was close, with negotiators down to “disagreements over a word, a sentence.”
“Does not indicate the ceasefire has ended,” the mere fact that we fired on boats and missile platforms means we violated the ceasefire. Does CentCom have difficulty with english, surely the Adm. isn’t an english as a second language type or, is the man an idiot?