Washington: The US struck Iran on Friday in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. It’s the most significant test yet to an interim understanding reached a week ago by the two countries to begin working to end their months-long war and reopen the pivotal waterway.
US President Donald Trump said the drone attack violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters, “You’ll find out,” whether the US would respond.
US Central Command said the military struck missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in Iran.
“I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them,” Trump said at the White House shortly before the US struck back. When asked why there would be strikes when Trump has insisted talks with Tehran are going well, Trump said of Iran, “They’re a little bit different.”
He then abruptly cut off questions, and reporters were ushered out of his office.
Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, responded to Trump on social media earlier Friday, saying, “The Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules” and to “not mistake control for escalation.”
“This is not a violation of the ceasefire; it is ceasefire management,” Azizi wrote.
Strikes conclude an hour later
The US strikes on Iran concluded about an hour after US Central Command announced the military action on social media, a US official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation.
The British military said Thursday that a container ship was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman, coming hours after Iran threatened vessels to stop using the route. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said no injuries were reported.
The development came during 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 of the Strait of Hormuz, even with the current interim deal it reached with the US last week.
The attack on the cargo ship happened while a United Nations maritime agency was beginning an operation to move stranded ships out of the strait this week, using an alternative route, hugging the shores of Oman rather than sailing through the central part of the strait.
The International Maritime Organisation halted the evacuations after the attack and said Friday they won’t resume until there are guarantees that the other ships won’t be attacked.
About 115 ships were able to move out of the strait in recent days, leaving about 500 still in the area, said Arsenio Dominguez, the agency’s secretary-general.
The opening of the alternative passage through the strait was expected to relieve pressure on the world economy and remove Iran’s main source of leverage in ongoing peace talks with the US.
The US and Iran are still negotiating terms of the deal, including issues such as getting ships through the key strait and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim deal, the two sides have 60 days to work out the details.
Cargo ship attack poses a test for shipping
Shipping analysts said the drone strike cast a shadow over what had been a growing stream of trapped vessels finally leaving the Gulf and an increasing flow of tankers carrying crude oil.
“A week of widening commercial confidence in the Strait of Hormuz has hit its first significant test,” said marine data company Windward on X. It said that while the strait remains operationally open with 43 transits recorded after the incident, “the pace of normalisation has slowed.”
On Wednesday, 78 vessels transited the strait, the highest since the war began, although below the pre-war averages of 130 or more per day.
At least two tankers reversed course while attempting to transit the strait on the UN-backed route near Oman after Iran insisted vessels use only the Tehran-approved routes, according to marine data and analytic firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
More than two dozen ships were still transiting the strait’s southern route after the attack, Lloyd’s said Friday.
Lebanon and Israel make a step toward peace
Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon announced an agreement Friday described as a step toward peace following months of conflict between Israeli troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon’s ambassador to the US, called the framework a move toward “enabling our people to go back to their land and allowing all Lebanese to live in peace, security, and prosperity.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was a “great achievement” for Israel.
“The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” he said, adding that they will stay until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat to Israel.
