The U.S. military on Friday launched airstrikes on Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar installations, describing the operation as "a powerful response" to the alleged Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, according to the U.S. Central Command.
Iran's drone attack on commercial shipping in the strait "clearly violated the ceasefire" and "undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor," the command said in a post on X.
The command vowed to "continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait" while remaining "present and vigilant" to ensure the newly signed U.S.-Iran peace deal is "obeyed, and in full force and effect."
This is the first U.S. strike against Iran after the two sides recently reached and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
According to an Iranian military source, explosions were heard at the port of Sirik, a city in southern Iran, on Friday night.
Earlier on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on social media platform that Iran had launched at least four one-way attack drones at the cargo ship on Thursday.
One drone "solidly hit" the upper deck of the vessel, causing damage but allowing it to continue its voyage, Trump said, adding that three other drones were shot down by the U.S. forces.
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement released in the early hours of Saturday that after Israel violated the ceasefire agreement in southern Lebanon, the United States once again broke its commitments.
Under various pretexts, the United States launched airstrikes on Iran's coastal areas over the passage of a non-compliant vessel through the unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz, and in retaliation of this act of aggression, the IRGC Navy struck the U.S. military positions in the region, said the statement.
The statement further noted that, according to article five of the Iran-U.S. MoU, the management of passage through the Strait of Hormuz falls under Iran's responsibility, but the United States attempted to violated this commitment by instigating various parties, for which it has received the necessary responses.
US strikes Iranian targets after alleged drone attack on ship in Hormuz Strait
