The US military launched strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions on Friday, hours after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire following a drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The retaliatory strikes – described by US Central Command as “a powerful response” – targeted multiple sites in Iran near the strait and on Qeshm Island. They came a day after an Iranian drone struck the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely, an incident that halted a planned evacuation of thousands of sailors stranded in the region.
“US strikes Iranian missile and drone sites after drone attack on cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely in Strait of Hormuz.”
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” Centcom said in a statement, adding that Iran’s “dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation”.
Trump, asked earlier Friday whether the US would respond, told reporters: “You’ll find out.” Shortly before the strikes, he said: “I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them.” He characterised the attack as a “foolish violation” of the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June, under which Iran had agreed to use its “best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) blamed the “treaty-breaking US regime” and said its navy had retaliated by striking US military positions in the region. “If the aggression is repeated our response will be more extensive than this,” the IRGC warned.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, said on social media that the US had “attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again”. He added: “This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part.”
US Vice-President JD Vance wrote on social media that if Iran “has disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone”. He added: “But violence will be met with violence.”
The drone strike cast a shadow over what had been a growing stream of trapped vessels finally leaving the Gulf. Marine data company Windward said on X: “A week of widening commercial confidence in the Strait of Hormuz has hit its first significant test.” About 115 ships had moved out of the strait in recent days, leaving about 500 still in the area, said Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the UN shipping agency.
The US and Iran are still negotiating terms of the deal, including issues such as getting ships through the key strait and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details.
Meanwhile, the US, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework for lasting peace on Friday, with ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon announcing an agreement described as a step towards peace following months of conflict between Israeli troops and Hezbollah. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the plan a “great achievement”, saying Israel would remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah was disarmed.