TEHRAN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran's armed forces fired missiles at certain targets from the country's southern regions on Thursday night, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The report said the missiles' exact targets are still unknown, while local sources cited the possibility of clashes in the Persian Gulf.

Explosions were reported in Iran's southern provinces of Bushehr and Hormozgan on Thursday night, Iranian media said.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing the Iranian army, said exchanges of fire took place at sea to warn "violating" vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tasnim also quoted a military source as saying that Iran's air defense forces fired missiles at an "invading" U.S. drone near Bushehr, while the semi-official Mehr news agency reported that a blast heard in Bushehr province's Jam city was caused by air defense's engagement with invading aircraft.

The U.S. military later denied Iranian media reports that a U.S. aircraft had been downed near Bushehr. "No U.S. aircraft were shot down. All U.S. air assets are accounted for," the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X early Friday.

Mehr also reported that Iranian armed forces fired warning shots at four vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without coordinating with Iran.

Early Thursday, Iranian media reported three explosions east of the port city of Bandar Abbas on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz.

Later in the day, multiple U.S. media outlets reported that the U.S. military carried out fresh overnight strikes on Iran, targeting what Washington described as a military site posing a threat to U.S. forces and commercial shipping in the region.

Citing a U.S. official, CBS News said U.S. forces also intercepted drones launched from Iran. The official described the strikes as defensive, asserting that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains in place.

Citing military sources, Tasnim said the U.S. strikes came after Iranian naval forces fired warning shots at four vessels seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran's permission.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said it carried out strikes on a U.S. air base Thursday morning in response to the U.S. attacks against Bandar Abbas.