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The US has struck Iran in a tit-for-tat response to a drone strike on a cargo ship, as the ceasefire between the US and Iran that reopened the strait of Hormuz undergoes its greatest test yet.
The US strikes targeted multiple missile and drone facilities in Iran near the strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island on Friday in what appeared to be a limited strike meant to respond to Iran’s attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship without escalating the conflict.
The US struck “Iranian missile and drone storage locations”, US Central Command (Centcom) said, in what it called a “powerful response” to the Iranian strike on the M/V Ever Lovely.
But the US military said it would continue to enforce the shaky ceasefire with Iran even as disagreements have emerged over the terms of Iran’s nuclear programme, the question of tolls in the strait of Hormuz, and other thorny questions including Iran’s ballistic missiles programme.
“The US military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect,” Centcom said.
“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone,” JD Vance, the US vice-president, wrote on social media after the strikes. “But violence will be met with violence.”
Donald Trump said that Iran’s drone attack violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters “you’ll find out” whether the US would respond. The US president also called the attack a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire.
“I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them,” Trump said shortly before the US strikes on Friday.
Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik after an explosion was heard there. The source said several warning shots had been fired from Sirik towards vessels that violated strait of Hormuz regulations about five hours earlier, adding that two warning missiles had also been launched from the nearby Karpan area towards the strategic waterway.
The Revolutionary Guards said that in response its navy “struck the locations where the terrorist US military is stationed in the region” and warned that any further US attacks would be met with a broader response, according to the statement carried on state media.
The ceasefire agreement gave Iran control over ship traffic in the strait, the Guards said.
“However, the United States, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given. If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this.”
Ebrahim Azizi, a senior Iranian security official, said that Iran was not seeking to escalate the conflict.
“This is not a violation of the ceasefire; it is ceasefire management,” Azizi wrote.
The attack caused the UN’s International Maritime Organization to pause efforts to evacuate hundreds of ships stranded in the Persian Gulf because of the conflict. It was not immediately clear under what conditions or authority the Ever Lovely sought to exit the strait of Hormuz. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said no one was injured in the attack on the Ever Lovely, which damaged the bridge of the ship.
“A cargo vessel has been hit on the starboard side by an unknown projectile, causing damage to the bridge,” the authority said. “Master has reported no casualties and no environmental impact.”
On Thursday, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said: “Any passage through routes outside the framework designated by PGSA will not be covered by safe passage guarantees and will not be entitled to insurance coverage or related liabilities.”
