Iran reports strikes on 2 military sites; US denies conducting new attacks
Confusion deepens after Iran claims attacks on bases, US rejects strike role
Iranian state media said two military facilities in southern Iran came under attack Thursday evening, but US officials denied that American forces were carrying out any new strikes, adding to uncertainty over the latest reported explosions.
The state-run IRNA news agency, citing Ehsan Jahanian, the political and security deputy governor of Bushehr province, reported that a military facility near the city of Bushehr was struck by what he described as "US-Israeli enemy projectiles".
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The report did not specify the extent of the damage or whether there were casualties.
Bushehr province is home to key military installations as well as critical energy infrastructure, including Iran's only operational nuclear power plant, located on the outskirts of the coastal city.
There was no indication that the nuclear facility itself had been affected.
Separately, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that a naval military zone in Konarak, a strategic port on the Gulf of Oman in southeastern Iran, was attacked twice by what it described as "enemy fighter jets."
The broadcaster quoted Konarak county governor Mohammad Younes Haqani as saying emergency responders and security forces had been deployed to the area.
However, a US official told CNN that the US military was not conducting strikes in Iran at the time of the reported attacks.
Israeli officials also said they were unaware of any Israeli involvement in strikes inside Iran on Thursday evening.
The conflicting accounts come after an earlier wave of US military operations against Iranian targets and subsequent Iranian missile attacks on US positions in the region.
No acknowledgement of attacks
Iranian state media has on several occasions blamed explosions or military incidents on US or Israeli action, while Washington and Tel Aviv have not always acknowledged involvement.
Konarak, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, occupies a strategically important position along Iran's Makran coast on the Gulf of Oman and hosts naval facilities that support Iranian operations outside the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no independent confirmation of the reported strikes, and the circumstances surrounding the incidents remained unclear.
