Iran’s suicide drone strike on US ally threatens Trump’s fragile peace in Strait of Hormuz
Iran launched an explosives-laden suicide drone at a cargo ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, jeopardizing the regime’s fragile ceasefire with the United States after Donald Trump declared the waterway safe for oil tankers.
A Singaporean ship was attacked by Iran’s Shahed drone on Thursday evening, US officials told the Washington Post.
Although no injuries or deaths have been confirmed, serious damage to the ship’s bridge occurred.
Before the attack, Iran had warned oil tankers through the regime media that the roads passing through the strait were limited and other roads were ‘completely dangerous’.
The attack came as the United States and Iran are delicately negotiating a long-term peace deal that would limit the regime’s nuclear program.
Trump has previously said he would strike Iran if it violates a recently signed ceasefire that allows safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil.
Although the president said the strait had reopened following the ceasefire, only 50 ships passed through the waterway on Wednesday.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
An oil tanker burned after being hit by an Iranian attack in the ship-to-ship transfer zone in Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late on Wednesday, March 11.
A Singaporean ship was attacked by Iran’s Shahed drone on Thursday evening, US officials told the Washington Post
Trump has previously said he would strike Iran if it violates the recently signed ceasefire that allows ships safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
At the beginning of the war, Iran closed the bottleneck using speedboats, unmanned aerial vehicles and sea mines.
In the following months, gas prices in the United States rose to an average of over $4.50 per gallon, while Europe and Asia began rationing oil supplies.
It is clear whether traffic in the Bosphorus has been affected by the latest attack. The regime did not make a direct statement on the issue.
The route attacked by Iran had been promoted by the United Nations maritime service as a safe shipping route for oil tankers.
The peace agreement signed last week committed Iran to “make best efforts for the safe passage of commercial ships for 60 days.”
Ending Tehran’s pressure on the waterway, which disrupted global oil and gas supplies and increased fuel and food prices, was the main demand of the United States in the negotiations.
The agreement also states that Iran will work with Oman to “determine the future management and maritime services” of the strait, but there is serious uncertainty about what will happen after 60 days.
Vice President J.D. Vance and Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading U.S. diplomatic efforts with the regime, demanding that it abandon its enriched uranium stockpiles and nuclear ambitions.
