US military carries out strikes on Iran after ships struck by drones in Strait of Hormuz

The US military has carried out strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites after ships were struck by drones in the Strait of Hormuz. The attack was in retaliation to an Iranian attack on a commercial ship yesterday. The US has said Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on Thursday with a one-way attack drone.

Donald Trump accused Iran of a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement, claiming Tehran fired at least four kamikaze drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The US president said in a post on Truth Social that one drone damaged a cargo ship, but the other three were “knocked down.” He did not name the ship, but it came hours after a Taiwanese-operated ship was fired on by Iran. Trump stated, “Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”

The UN shipping agency temporarily paused its scheme to evacuate hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers from the Gulf after the Taiwanese ship was damaged in the attack close to the Omani side of the waterway.

Fox News initially reported that US strikes on Iranian targets were “ongoing.” Iranian media later reported a projectile strike near a pier in Sirik in southern Iran on Friday, coming after the US military announced its strikes. Iranian media, citing a military source, added that warning shots had been fired hours earlier on Friday toward "violating vessels" in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media also reported that a sound of an explosion was heard in Sirik, with the source not immediately clear, following President Donald Trump's hint at a US response.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have “repelled” the US attack against Sirik Island, located on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC warned that retaliation to a US strike on Sirik Island would be “swift and decisive” as tensions rise between the two nations.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported a “powerful response” to the attack on the M/V Ever Lovely on Thursday. The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack. CENTCOM stated that the strikes against Iran on Friday were a “powerful response” to attacks on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. A US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites. The US claimed that Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, in an act of “unwarranted aggression” that “clearly violated the ceasefire.” CENTCOM added that Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.

CNN later reported, citing a US official, that strikes on Iran have reportedly finished. So far, it is understood that Sirik in southern Iran has been impacted. The US claimed to target Iranian missile and drone storage locations, as well as coastal radar sites. It remains unclear how these strikes have impacted Iran.