Indian Ocean / Strait of Hormuz — The US–Iran conflict has lurched into deep waters after Tehran claimed its forces “bombed” a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean with new Ghadr and Talaieh missiles, while separate strikes reportedly “hit” multiple ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Iranian state media, a forward‑deployed IRGC missile unit fired a salvo of Ghadr medium‑range and Talaieh anti‑ship missiles at a US destroyer operating hundreds of kilometers from Iran’s coastline. Grainy video shows launches from a coastal pad and a distant fireball at sea, hyped as “direct hits on the American aggressor.”

US Central Command confirms that a destroyer in the Indian Ocean came under “coordinated missile and drone fire,” acknowledging blast damage to upper-deck sensors and minor injuries to several sailors but insisting the ship remains combat capable. Interceptors and close‑in weapons reportedly downed most incoming threats before impact.

Almost simultaneously, merchant crews reported explosions near at least two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. One tanker suffered hull damage above the waterline; another was briefly disabled after a suspected drone strike on its superstructure. The IRGC is calling these “warning shots” to foreign shipping “covering Zionist and American operations.”

Analysts say the twin actions — long‑range missile fire in the Indian Ocean and harassment in Hormuz — are meant to prove Iran can now threaten US warships far from shore while keeping the world’s key oil chokepoint under constant pressure, sharply raising the risks of a wider naval confrontation.