The United States attacked Iran on Friday in response to a drone strike a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. It is the most significant test yet of a tentative agreement reached a week ago between the two countries to begin work on ending their months-long war and reopening the central waterway.
US President Donald Trump said the drone strike violated the ceasefire. The attacks came shortly after Trump told reporters: “You’ll find out” whether the U.S. would respond.
U.S. Central Command said the military attacked missile and drone sites as well as coastal radar sites in Iran.
“I don’t like the fact that they fired one shot yesterday, four in fact,” Trump said at the White House shortly before the U.S. retaliated. Asked why there would be attacks despite Trump’s insistence that talks with Tehran are going well, Trump said of Iran: “They’re a little different.”
He then abruptly stopped questions and reporters were escorted out of his office.
Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, responded to Trump on social media on Friday, saying: “The Strait of Hormuz is ruled by Iran, so respect the rules” and “don’t confuse control with escalation.”
“This is not a ceasefire violation; it is ceasefire management,” Azizi wrote.
The strikes end an hour later
The U.S. strikes on Iran ended about an hour after U.S. Central Command announced the military action on social media, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation.
The British military said on Thursday that a container ship was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman a few hours later Iran threatened Ships are no longer allowed to use the route. The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations Center said no injuries were reported.
The development came at a fragile time for the US and Iran as they work to negotiate a permanent end to the war. Iran has increasingly challenged the region and the US over its control over the Strait of Hormuz, even with the current interim agreement it reached with the US last week.
The attack on the cargo ship came as a United Nations maritime agency began an operation this week to remove stranded ships from the strait. An alternative route was used that followed the coast of Oman instead of passing through the central part of the strait.
The International Maritime Organization stopped the evacuations after the attack and said Friday that they will not resume until there are guarantees that the other ships will not be attacked.
About 115 ships have been able to leave the strait in recent days, leaving about 500 remaining in the area, said Arsenio Dominguez, the agency’s secretary general.
The opening of the alternative passage through the strait was expected Relief for the global economy and eliminate Iran’s main source of influence ongoing peace talks with the USA
The US and Iran are still negotiating the terms of the agreement, including issues such as moving ships through the strait and resolving the future Iran’s reserves of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim agreement, both sides have 60 days to work out the details.
The attack on a cargo ship puts shipping to a tough test
Shipping analysts said the drone strike cast a shadow over the growing flow of trapped ships eventually leaving the Gulf and an increasing flow of tankers carrying crude oil.
“A week of growing commercial confidence in the Strait of Hormuz has seen its first significant test,” said marine data company Windward
On the Wednesday before Thursday’s drone strike, 78 ships transited the strait, the highest number since the war began, although below the prewar average of 130 or more per day.
At least two tankers reversed course as they attempted to transit the strait on the United Nations-backed route near Oman after Iran insisted that ships only use routes approved by Tehran, according to shipping data and analytics firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
More than two dozen ships were still sailing on the southern route of the strait after the attack, Lloyd’s said Friday.
Lebanon and Israel are taking a step towards peace
Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon announced an agreement Friday was hailed as a step toward peace after months of conflict between Israeli troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Nada Hamadeh, Lebanese ambassador to the United States, called the framework a step “to enable our people to return to their country and to enable all Lebanese to live in peace, security and prosperity.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was a “major achievement” for Israel.
“The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel remains in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” he said, adding that they will remain until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat to Israel.