TEHRAN, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Two counties in southwestern Iran's Khuzestan province were hit by U.S. strikes on Tuesday afternoon, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported, citing a local official.
Abadan County, home to Iran's oldest oil refinery and bordering Iraq, and nearby Bandar-e Mahshahr County on the northern coast of the Gulf, were targeted, according to Valiollah Hayati, Khuzestan's deputy governor for security and law enforcement affairs.
An earlier IRNA report, also citing Hayati, reported that at least four people were injured in Khuzestan's Omidiyeh County in overnight U.S. strikes.
Meanwhile, semi-official Fars news agency reported that four locations in southwestern Iran's port city of Bushehr, which hosts Iran's first operational commercial nuclear power plant, were struck by "enemy projectiles" on Tuesday, with no casualties reported so far.
The extent of the attack and potential damage are currently under investigation, Fars reported, citing Ehsan Jahanian, Bushehr's deputy governor for political and security affairs.
Also on Tuesday, state-run IRIB news agency reported that five explosions were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran's Hormozgan province.
It added that three members of a family were killed after a U.S. projectile hit their house in a Hormozgan village on Tuesday morning.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Central Command said on social media platform X that it completed a five-hour wave of strikes against Iran, targeting military facilities in Bushehr, Chabahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
In response, the Iranian armed forces said they had launched missile and drone strikes on U.S. bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.
Iran also accused the U.S. military of attempting to escort several vessels through an "illegal" route in the strait.
The latest escalation came after days of clashes between Iran and the United States despite a U.S.-Iran peace memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June, under which the two sides were expected to begin negotiations within 60 days toward a final agreement.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the United States was "reinstating the Iranian blockade, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," and proposed charging a 20-percent fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. media also reported Monday that Trump had formally notified Congress of the resumption of U.S. military operations against Iran. ■
