Tehran/Washington, DC: The US carried out airstrikes against military targets in Iran after a drone attack on a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Singapore-flagged cargo vessel came under attack when it was exiting the Strait.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes targeted Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations after Iran hit the M/V Ever Lovely with a one-way attack drone on June 25. The vessel was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast when it was attacked.
“CENTCOM forces conducted strikes against Iran, June 26, as a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the command said in a statement, as reported by Mid-Day.
“Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites” were struck by aircraft “after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone,” it said.
The attack on the merchant vessel “clearly violated the ceasefire”, CENTCOM further added.
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire. Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behaviour undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor,” it said.
It would continue protecting commercial shipping through the strategic waterway, the US military said.
“CENTCOM forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait. The U.S. military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect.”
US president Donald Trump had criticised Iran’s attack on the cargo vessel hours before the airstrikes.
“I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “They shouldn’t be doing that. You’ll find out.”
Iran had launched four one-way attack drones at ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has posted on social media earlier. US forces intercepted three of them, while the fourth struck the cargo ship, he said.
“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” he wrote.
While Iran did not immediately acknowledge responsibility for the attack on the vessel, The Wall Street Journal cited Iranian state media as saying that projectiles struck a telecommunications tower in Sirik, a port overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, after the US retaliation.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that “any new folly will be met with a strong response that will shatter the illusions of the aggressors in the region”, it was reported.
The IRGC also claimed it had thwarted part of the US operation and forced American forces to retreat, although there was no immediate confirmation from the US military, The Washington Post reported.
It was reported in The New York Times that the US strikes lasted about 90 minutes and were intended as a retaliatory measure rather than a resumption of major combat operations.
This came only days after Washington and Tehran agreed to halt hostilities following weeks of military confrontation.
The ceasefire framework called for an end to military operations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz while both sides begin negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme and other outstanding issues. Friday’s attack on the Ever Lovely and the subsequent US retaliation now raise fresh questions over the durability of that fragile agreement.
