The US carried out retaliatory strikes on Iranian military facilities, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Thursday night.
"US forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman," CENTCOM wrote.
"Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones, and small boats, as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage," CENTCOM said, adding that "No US assets were struck."
CENTCOM "eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces, including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance nodes," they added.
US President Donald Trump commented on the incident in a post on Truth Social on Thursday.
"Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers," Trump wrote.
"They were completely destroyed along with numerous small boats, which are being used to take the place of their fully decapitated Navy. These boats went to the bottom of the Sea, quickly and efficiently. Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!" he continued.
"A normal Country would have allowed these Destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal Country. They are led by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question — But they’ll never have that opportunity and, just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!" he added.
"Our three Destroyers, with their wonderful Crews, will now rejoin our Naval Blockade, which is truly a 'Wall of Steel.'" he concluded.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House later on Thursday, said that "The plan is very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."
UAE may have been involved in striking Iran, Iranian media says
However, explosions heard near Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night may have been caused by hostile action from the UAE, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim media outlet reported.
Unnamed sources also told Tasnim that the explosions were related to a confrontation with two small aircraft.
Tasmin emphasized that the incident has not yet been officially confirmed, adding that if it is, "the UAE will pay the cost of its hostile action."
A Fox News reporter said in a post on X/Twitter that the US was responsible for carrying out the strikes on Bandar Abbas and Qeshm, citing a senior US official.
The Iranian military's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters stated that the US carried out the operations "in cooperation with countries in the region." Iranian forces "immediately retaliated," and "caused significant damage" to US military vessels east of the Strait, the military claimed.
Iran's Mehr News Agency reported that defenses shot down "two hostile drones" over the port city of Bandar Abbas and Qeshm, an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.
US military naval units came under missile fire after US attack on Iranian oil tanker, Tehran's state media says
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that three American Navy Destroyers were targeted in the Strait by Iranian naval forces.
"The destroyers of the US terror force are fleeing towards the Sea of Oman," the outlet wrote, adding that the claimed attack was carried out by using "missiles and suicide drones."
It was unclear when the incident happened.
The alleged incident was claimed following an attack by the US military on an Iranian oil tanker.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but on Wednesday, the US military said it had disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that was trying to sail towards an Iranian port.
The US military said that US forces hit the tanker's rudder with a F-18 fighter jet.