Iran Threatens Retaliation After US Strikes

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened retaliation after the US military carried out overnight strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, the latest flare-up in a conflict that has rattled global energy markets since February 2026.

US Cites Self-Defense, Iran Warns of Response

The US military carried out what it called "self-defense strikes" targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM spokesman Timothy Hawkins told CNN that US forces struck targets in southern Iran "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces," adding that targets included "missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines."

The IRGC warned it will retaliate against any ceasefire violations, stating that it "considers its right to reciprocal response to be legitimate and certain," according to Iranian state-affiliated media. Iran's foreign ministry also accused the US of committing ceasefire violations in the Hormozgan region over the preceding 48 hours, citing "repeated naval harassment against Iranian commercial vessels."

The strikes came after Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf traveled to Qatar as part of ongoing talks, which US President Donald Trump said Monday were "proceeding nicely." The incident was the latest flare-up in the fragile ceasefire that began April 7 and has largely held.

Hormuz Shipping Remains a Key Pressure Point

The IRGC claimed that 25 vessels, including oil tankers and container ships, transited the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours with coordination and security provided by its forces, in a statement carried by Iran's semi-official Tasnim News. CNN could not independently verify the shipping traffic numbers.

The IRGC Navy said it was maintaining what it described as "intelligent control" over the Strait of Hormuz and warned that "any act of aggression will be met with crushing blows."

Negotiations between the two sides center in part on the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway off southern Iran through which a fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas passed before the war began with US-Israeli strikes in February. Until the conflict, roughly 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade and 20% of global liquefied natural gas passed through the strait.

CNN: Iran war live updates, IRGC threatens retaliation after US strikes | Fortune: Iran slams US strikes as sign of bad faith | Britannica: 2026 Iran war overview