U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth took to X on Friday to share an image of a tower, appearing to collapse at Iran's Chabahar port situated on the Gulf of Oman.
News Agency AP said that the photograph showed the Chabahar port tower. Hegseth, however, did not identify the tower in the image with any site.
The port has been a repeated target of US airstrikes.
Iranian state media acknowledged the recent attacks on the facility, but they did not confirm the extent of damage or the collapse of the tower.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency described the tower as overseeing commercial traffic into the Shahid Kalantari port. It said the ‘maritime surveillance tower’ was struck in a US attack early on Friday and was ‘destroyed’. However, the IRGC also operates at ports across the country.
Iran did not report any casualties or injuries in the blast.
The news agency said that its pre-existing crisis management and civil defence measures prevented casualties.
The IRNA also said that the technical and operational teams are assessing damage and evaluating conditions for resuming port operations.
The Chabahar port is also a key trade route for landlocked Afghanistan and has been run with the support of India.
Tehran, meanwhile, said that it launched a fresh wave of attacks on US military across the Gulf after American forces carried out their sixth night of attacks on Iranian military targets. The IRGC said that it targeted and destroyed two US radar sites in Oman, one for maritime and one for air surveillance.
US airstrikes also targeted several bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, including routes connected to Bandar Khamir near the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Central Command said that the latest operation marked the sixth consecutive night of Strikes against Iran.
“More than 50,000 US service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal and ready,” the command said.
CENTCOM also said that the US Marines boarded a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman as part of the enforcement of a US naval blockade against Iran.
The White House said that the US blockade applies only to vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports
