US Strikes Iran in Response to Ship Attack, Tensions Escalate

The US military launched strikes against Iran late on Friday in response to an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

The two sides accused each other of violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement reached just last week, escalating tensions in the vital shipping lane.

Centcom, the American military command in the Middle East, confirmed its aircraft targeted missile and drone storage facilities as well as coastal radar sites in Iran. It released a grainy black-and-white video, labelled "unclassified", depicting an explosion. A US official later indicated that the operation had concluded.

Centcom described the strikes as "a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz", adding that the American military would continue to provide "safe passage coordination and support" to commercial vessels in the waterway.

Iran reported that a projectile struck the area around a pier in Sirik, southern Iran, and claimed its naval forces retaliated by hitting US military targets in the region.

Tehran did not offer specific details on what was targeted.

Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik after an explosion was heard. The source also mentioned that several warning shots and two warning missiles had been fired from Sirik and the nearby Karpan area towards vessels violating its Hormuz regulations hours earlier. However, Iran's Mehr news agency later quoted the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan as stating there was no damage to the port of Sirik, with facilities operating normally.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards asserted that their navy "struck the locations where the terrorist US military is stationed in the region" in response to the new strikes. They warned that any further US attacks would be met with a broader response.

They also insisted that the ceasefire agreement gave Iran control over traffic in the strait. "However, the US, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given,” they added. “If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this."

US president Donald Trump blamed Iran for the cargo ship attack, stating that it violated last week's interim agreement.

His vice president, JD Vance, echoed this sentiment. "Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honoured it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence," he posted on X.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, criticised Mr Trump for failing to show commitment to negotiation or ceasefire principles.

"This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part," he said on X.

Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement calling for Hezbollah to disarm and Israel to withdraw troops from southern Lebanon, though its enforcement mechanisms remained unclear. Hezbollah, which wasn’t involved in talks over the deal, framed as an initial step, said it would not cooperate.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio, concluding a tour of the Gulf to reassure regional allies about the interim pact with Iran, issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council. It called for "free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation" in the strait, without tolls or "attempts to assert control”.

Iran's foreign ministry maintained that the strait must be governed by Iran and Oman, while Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to the country’s supreme leader, warned Washington's Gulf allies their survival depended on Tehran's tolerance.