State media: Iran guards target US base over strikes

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards targeted an American base in retaliation for US strikes on the country's south, Iran's state broadcaster IRIB has reported.

"Following this morning's aggression by the invading US military against a location on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport using aerial projectiles, the American air base that served as the source of the attack was targeted at 4:50 am (02:20 Irish time)," the guards said, according to IRIB.

It did not provide details of the location of the base, but Kuwait, a US ally, said it was responding to missile and drone attacks this morning.

The US military carried out new strikes targeting an Iranian drone operation that posed a threat to US forces and ⁠commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said.

It came hours after US President Donald Trump dismissed an Iranian report of a deal to restore traffic through the strategic waterway.

The US official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about military operations, told Reuters the military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

A ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect in early April.

"These actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire," the official said.

Iran's Tasnim news agency cited a military source as saying that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy fired toward a US oil tanker that was trying to transit the waterway, forcing it to turn back.

The source said the US military then struck open ground around Bandar Abbas, with no casualties or damage reported.

Iranian media later reported that a military official said four vessels had tried to transit the Strait of Hormuz,only to be turned back by warning shots fired in their direction.

The US military also carried out strikes in southern Iran, in what it described as defensive action but which Iran said was a "gross violation" of their ceasefire.

Meanwhile the United States Treasury announced sanctions against Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Tehran's new agency that collects fees for travelling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"The Iranian military's latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees because they "may be providing support to and receiving services from" Iran's Revolutionary Guards and therefore may "be exposed to sanctions risk".

"Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programmes, terrorist proxies and nuclear ambitions," Mr Bessent said.

The statement said the US has succeeded in disrupting "tens of billions of dollars' worth of revenue from being accessible" to Tehran.

In a post to X on 20 May, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority issued a map to define its "regulatory jurisdiction", demarcating red lines on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz that require Iran's authorisation for passage.

US and Iranian forces have observed a ceasefire since 8 April while diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, but Iran's controls have tightened on Gulf shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US has launched strikes on Iranian targets in recent days.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday that Tehran will continue to manage traffic through the strategic Strait fo Hormuz - through which 20% of the world's oil and natural gas transits - and insisted Iran is collecting fees for "navigational services" rather than imposing tolls.

The war began after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February and saw Iran respond with missile and drone attacks across the region.