Istanbul / Anadolu

- Official Iranian media, including state television, reported hearing explosions on Qeshm Island and in the cities of Jask, Sirik, and Bandar Abbas

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sunday the start of additional strikes against Iran, claiming that the goal is to "weaken" Tehran's ability to "attack commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz".

CENTCOM said in a post on its account on the American company 'X' platform that 'at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today (21:00 GMT), forces of the US Central Command began conducting additional strikes against Iran.'

It claimed that the goal of the strikes is to 'continue weakening its (Iran's) ability to attack civilian sailors and commercial vessels freely crossing the Strait of Hormuz, and the Commander-in-Chief (President Donald Trump) ordered these strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable for their actions.'

In contrast, official Iranian media, including state television, reported hearing explosions on Qeshm Island and in the cities of Jask, Sirik, and Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, southern Iran.

Five Gulf states and Jordan witnessed attacks on Sunday, the broadest targeting of Arab countries since the de-escalation between Washington and Tehran last April, while some of those countries said Iran was behind the attacks.

According to Anadolu's monitoring of official positions, those countries included Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Jordan.

On Saturday night/Sunday, Washington and Tehran exchanged strikes, while Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime navigation until further notice.

The Revolutionary Guard also announced on Sunday in a statement that it targeted two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, saying they 'violated the transit rules' imposed by Iran.

Earlier on Sunday, CENTCOM announced via the American company 'X' platform the launch of a new wave of attacks on Iran, in response to the latter's targeting of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM indicated that its attacks last night hit about 140 military targets, including missile and drone sites, naval military capabilities, ammunition depots, communications networks, and coastal surveillance facilities.

In response to these attacks, Iran announced that it targeted US military positions in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan with missiles.

Washington and Tehran had signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 last year after negotiations mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, paving the way for a final agreement, before Trump announced that the memorandum with Iran 'ended' against the backdrop of the recent escalation.