Overnight explosions heard in southern Iran as regional tensions escalate

Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

File photo: AP ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Explosions struck multiple coastal areas across in Iran's southern Hormozgan province Thursday, with state media reporting “hostile projectiles” hitting parts of the province and as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated sharply following a day of strikes on naval vessels and oil tankers in regional waters.

“The sounds of several explosions were reported in the coastal areas of Sirik, Qeshm, and Minab County” in the southern Hormozgan province, Fars News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported on Thursday.

Fars cited the Hormozgan governor's office as stating that “the source of the sounds came from the direction of the sea.” The blasts were also confirmed by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) which reported that several areas in Sirik were hit by “hostile projectiles” without providing further details.