The US and Iran engage in a gunfight in the Strait of Hormuz. Each player claims the other’s shot first.

The United States and Iran opened fire in the Strait of Hormuz, with each side claiming the other had launched the attack.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that as three U.S. Navy destroyers passed through the strait late Thursday, its forces “intercepted an unprovoked Iranian attack and responded with a self-defense strike.”

Centcom said in a statement that “Iranian forces fired multiple missiles, drones, and small boats” as the U.S. warship passed toward the Gulf of Oman. “No U.S. assets were attacked.”

“We eliminated external threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacks on U.S. forces, including missile and drone launch sites, command and control locations, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes,” Centcom said in a statement.

“CENTCOM is not seeking escalation, but remains poised and ready to protect U.S. forces.”

Iran earlier accused the United States of attacking multiple targets in and around the strait, a central gateway in the ongoing war, violating the two countries’ fragile ceasefire agreement.

“Aggressive, terrorist and bandit US forces violated the ceasefire agreement and targeted an Iranian tanker that was moving from Iranian coastal waters towards the strait,” Iranian military officials said in a statement to the state news agency.

The spokesperson said Iranian forces “immediately retaliated by attacking U.S. military vessels east of the Strait of Hormuz and south of Chabahar port, inflicting significant damage,” according to a reported translation of the statement.

CENTCOM’s statement did not mention a ceasefire. The ceasefire began on April 8, but was already severely disrupted by repeated accusations that its terms were being violated.

The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on news of the airstrike.

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