Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired at commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in the early hours of Monday, with US aircraft shooting down an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone in response, according to CENTCOM.
The development comes hours after Iran claimed to have launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes on American bases in the region.
The Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins confirmed the naval engagement to Axios's Barak Ravid, saying IRGC forces had fired at commercial shipping transiting the strait over the past hour.
"U.S. aircraft have successfully shot down an Iranian cruise missile and one-way attack drone," Hawkins said, in a statement.
CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins tells me: "Over the past hour, IRGC forces fired at commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. aircraft have successfully shot down an Iranian cruise missile and one-way attack drone so far"
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 12, 2026
CNN, citing similar details, reported that commercial shipping in Hormuz had come under IRGC fire within the hour and confirmed the interception of the Iranian cruise missile.
The naval flare-up came shortly after Iran's IRGC reportedly said on Telegram that it had launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks toward US military bases.
The announcement followed hourslong US strikes targeting central and southern Iran, including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and Sirik, which CENTCOM said were aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to threaten shipping in the strait.
Iran's newly formed Persian Gulf Strait Authority said separately that transit through Hormuz was not possible at present, citing what it called illegal movements by US forces in the region, reasserting a closure it had first declared days earlier after the IRGC struck a commercial cargo ship.
At least one person was killed and four injured when a projectile struck an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr in southern Iran, state news agency IRNA reported.
Monday's exchange marks the latest breach of a memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran in mid-June.
ALSO READ: Iran Under Fresh Fire: Explosions Hit Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Sirik As US Strikes Continue
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