The US military attacked Iran yesterday in response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, throwing the fate of the interim peace deal recently agreed between the two countries into question.
US Central Command said aircraft struck missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites. Iranian media said a projectile struck an area around a pier in Sirik, a city on the shores of the strategic waterway.
CENTCOM said, “The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire.”
Yesterday’s US strikes do not reflect a return to major combat operations, at least for now, a US official told CNN.
It was the first such incident since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to open the strait and launch more in-depth negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump has offered few signs he is prepared to resume the war, which he acknowledged last week may have led to “economic catastrophe” if it had persisted.
Tehran has insisted it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington after Thursday’s attack on a cargo ship travelling near Oman’s coast. US President Donald Trump blamed the attack on Iran and said it violated last week’s agreement.
Bloomberg News said Oman, which lies on the opposite side of the strait from Iran, had told allies ships going through Hormuz may have to pay. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Oil prices dropped by about three per cent on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses despite the conflicting interpretations of last week’s interim deal between Iran and the US and renewed questions over the strait, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies typically passes.
Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed. Fertiliser shipments through the strait have also picked up, helping to assuage concerns about a spike in global food prices.
The attack on Thursday highlighted the fragility of a preliminary deal to end the Iran war. Two US officials had told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Iran had fired on the ship. Trump said an Iranian drone had hit the upper deck.
“Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”
The UAE foreign minister held his first announced phone call with his Iranian counterpart since the start of the conflict, UAE state news agency WAM said, underlining efforts to overcome tensions.
It said Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed emphasised the need to ensure freedom of navigation through the strait, where shipping had picked up pace before a new slowdown after the ship attack.
Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine said yesterday its Singapore-flagged ship Ever Lovely had been hit close to Oman on Thursday by an “unknown object” while on a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO. Nobody was hurt and the ship resumed its journey out of the strait.
The UN Maritime Organisation said it was working to resume the evacuation of ships stranded in the strait after the attack halted the process.
Trump warned this month that if Iran did not honour the interim deal, including reopening the strait, the US would probably go back to bombing the country.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said three South Korean ships would leave the strait over the weekend after the Oceans Ministry reported eight more South Korean vessels had exited.
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