Iranian news agency claims “cruise missile warning shots” fired at U.S. destroyers nearing Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Fars news agency, which is associated with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, said Monday that forces launched “cruise missile warning shots” at U.S. Navy destroyers nearing the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz in the Sea of Oman.

U.S. Central Command earlier rejected a claim by Fars, citing local media, that a U.S. frigate had been struck by missiles.

CENTCOM did not elaborate, but it said U.S. warships had transited the strait as part of “efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping” through the waterway under the Project Freedom initiative announced by President Trump.

The U.S. military also said two American-flagged commercial vessels had transited the strait under the guises of the project, but there was no further information provided on those journeys or how they were supported or guided by U.S. forces.

Fars said Iranian forces first warned the U.S. destroyers verbally, and then “issued a further warning by firing cruise missile warning shots, rockets, and combat drones near the hostile vessels.”

The U.S. military did not immediately confirm or deny ships in the Persian Gulf region being subjected to warning fire by Iranian forces.