The US carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
The strikes, initially reported by the Wall Street Journal, appeared to be limited and were not a resumption of major combat operations, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The strike came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed they downed a US MQ-9 drone overnight in the skies over the east of the Strait of Hormuz.
"IRGC personnel launched a missile from Qeshm Island toward an American aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, and in response, the Americans launched a surface-to-air missile in self-defense," a US official told the Post.
Another official said the strikes were defensive measures against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.
The Pentagon referred a request for comment to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East. CENTCOM did not respond to requests for comment.
Additionally, three oil tankers struck mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday after entering unauthorized shipping lanes with their navigation and identification systems switched off, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the IRGC Navy as saying.
The vessels were left burning off the southern coast of the strait, the IRGC Navy said, warning ships against ignoring Iranian regulations and cooperating with the US military to transit unauthorized routes.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media outlet IRNA reported that there were several explosions on Qeshm Island. WSJ reported that the attack was the latest in a series of strikes carried out by Washington in recent weeks.
Fox News, citing officials, said the strikes were defensive and carried out in response to Iran firing at a US aircraft.
US might have to attack Pickaxe Mountain, Trump says in interview
Trump said in an interview on Fox News following the strikes that the US "might have to attack Pickaxe Mountain," a heavily fortified nuclear site that the US President has been eyeing as a potential target.
"That's not a big deal," claimed Trump, adding that the US could carry out the attack "in one hour, as soon as we want, and anytime we want."
He also criticized former US president Barack Obama's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), calling it the "road to a nuclear weapon."
"It was time for us to stop them [Iran]," Trump said in the call. "Seven months ago, I told my people we're gonna have to do a little journey to Iran because we cannot let Iran, an evil nation... have a nuclear weapon. And we won't."
The US president also referred to World War I and World War II, calling the war with Iran "soft" in comparison. "This isn't like a war that's going on. This is a war where something could happen if they don't make a deal, but they wanna make a deal very badly, and there's a good chance we make a deal."
He added that if he can make a deal, he would in order to "save a lot of lives."
Reuters contributed to this report.