Conflict & Security
Explosions Heard Off Iran's Qeshm Island as Hormuz Shipping Falls
September 16, 2026 at 01:04 AM
Coverage
3 reports · over 3 hours
Several explosions were reported at dawn Wednesday off Iran's Qeshm Island, with no official explanation, as Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic has fallen.
- Local sources told state news agency IRNA that several explosions were heard Wednesday at dawn on Qeshm Island, with the sounds coming from the sea.
- Two similar sea-direction explosions were heard four days earlier; earlier blasts in Hormozgan province were attributed by officials to air-defense system drills.
- Shipping data from Kepler showed four vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, down from ten the previous day.
- Iran maintains navigation through the strait will not return to its previous level and has floated imposing service fees on transiting ships, which several Gulf states and the US reject.