Iranian media report two missiles hit Qeshm Island in southern Iran

Two missiles struck Qeshm Island in southern Iran early on Saturday, according to initial reports carried by Iranian news agencies. The Times of Israel reported that Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian agency, described the information as preliminary and said there was as yet no official information about any damage. Tasnim added that it would publish further details once the relevant authorities confirmed the incident.

Before that, IRNA, Iran's state news agency, had cited local witnesses who said two projectiles hit the Suza area of the island, and that the sound of an aircraft had been heard overhead beforehand. The Jerusalem Post also reported the claim that two missiles hit the island after an aircraft was heard above it. Neither report attributed the strike to any country or group.

Who is reporting this

Both Israeli outlets were relaying accounts from Iranian media rather than reporting from the scene. The two Iranian agencies involved have different standing. IRNA is the official state news agency. Tasnim is described as semi-official, a label commonly applied to Iranian outlets that operate outside direct government ownership but are generally understood to be close to parts of the state establishment.

The two Iranian accounts differ in emphasis. IRNA's version rested on what local witnesses said they saw and heard, including the aircraft noise and a specific location, Suza. Tasnim's version, which appeared later according to the Times of Israel, spoke of missiles rather than projectiles, but framed its information as initial and unconfirmed, and explicitly said official confirmation was still pending. Readers should treat both as early, unverified accounts.

Where Qeshm Island is

Qeshm is an island off Iran's southern coast, in the waters of the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage through which a large share of seaborne oil exports from the region travels. The reports place the incident in the Suza area of the island but give no further detail about what, if anything, was located at the point of impact.

The wider picture

The reports arrive against a background of military tension involving Iran. A photograph accompanying the Jerusalem Post report carried a caption referring to earlier reports of multiple US strikes on the Iranian city of Ahvaz, in Khuzestan Province, where loud explosions were reported by Iranian state television. The Jerusalem Post did not, in the material available, link that earlier episode to the events on Qeshm, and this article does not either.

The Times of Israel's live coverage on the same day also noted that the US Treasury had sanctioned Canadian money services firms over transactions connected to Iran, a separate development that reflects continuing economic pressure on Tehran.

What is not yet known

• No government, military or armed group has been reported as claiming responsibility, and neither report identifies who may have fired the missiles or flown the aircraft.
• Iranian authorities had not confirmed the incident at the time of the reports, according to Tasnim's own account.
• There is no information on damage, casualties, or what was located in the Suza area.
• The reports do not say what kind of missiles or projectiles were involved, or where they were launched from.
• No response from Israel, the United States or any other government has been reported.