Explosions reported in Iran’s Bandar Abbas

Tehran: Explosions were heard in coastal areas of Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas on Thursday afternoon, Iranian media reported.

The sounds, which mainly occurred at around 1400 hrs local time (1030 GMT) along the city’s southern coast, were likely the result of an exchange of fire in parts of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said three IRGC soldiers from Khuzestan province were killed as a result of a US strike on Thursday morning.

Bahrain and Kuwait reported on Thursday that their air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed Iranian aerial attacks.

The Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) said in a statement that Iran continued what it described as a “systematic hostile approach” through missile and drone attacks targeting civilians in the kingdom, Xinhua news agency reported.

It stated that all BDF units are at the highest levels of readiness and preparedness to protect the country, urging the public to avoid approaching or handling any unfamiliar or suspicious objects resulting from the attacks.

The BDF stressed that the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law.

In a statement on social media platform X, the General Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces said the military intercepted three ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 10 drones before dawn, with debris causing material damage in several locations and injuring one person, who is in stable condition.

Air raid sirens sounded across the country early Thursday, and explosive ordnance disposal teams had been deployed to clear remnants of the interception operations.

Separately, Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Iranian attacks as “a flagrant violation” of Kuwait’s sovereignty, “a direct threat” to its security and stability, and “a serious breach” of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

US Central Command said earlier that its forces had completed an additional round of strikes to degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the second consecutive day of such action.

US forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline, the command said.

Iran’s IRGC and army said they struck US military bases and facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

The new clashes came as Iran and the United States were holding negotiations to reach a final agreement within 60 days in line with a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

IANS