Trump unleashes midnight strikes on crucial Iran oil port as officials frantically insist ceasefire is holding
On Thursday, explosions shook the strategically vital Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz; Iranian state television confirmed that the explosions broke out during an active ‘exchange of fire’.
“The explosions at the Bahman pier on Qeshm Island occurred during a mutual ceasefire between the Iranian armed forces and the enemy,” according to a report in Persian by a news anchor working on state television.
Fox News reported that air strikes were also carried out on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
US officials tell television they do not believe this is a ‘resumption of war’ or ‘the end of the ceasefire’.
However, Iran’s top joint military command says that the US is carrying out air strikes on “civilian areas” with the “cooperation of some regional countries.”
In a post published on Truth Social on Thursday night, Trump announced that the USA managed to pass three ‘world-class American destroyers’ through the strait without any damage.
‘Three World Class American Destroyers passed very successfully through the Strait of Hormuz under fire. No damage was inflicted on the three Destroyers, but major damage was inflicted on the Iranian attackers. “They were completely destroyed, along with a large number of smaller boats used to replace the completely decapitated Navy,” he said.
Trump wrote that Iranian missiles and drones have completely failed.
Explosions shook the strategically vital Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
The news comes after President Trump sent a one-page memo containing concessions to secure a permanent peace deal.
‘These boats went to the bottom of the sea quickly and efficiently. Missiles were fired at our destroyers and they were easily knocked out. Likewise, drones arrived and were burned in the air. They landed beautifully in the Ocean, just like a butterfly landing on its grave!’
He later criticized Iran for not allowing destroyers to pass through the waterway, calling it ‘not a normal country’.
‘They are run by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would undoubtedly do so – But they will never have that opportunity, and just as we have knocked them out again today, we will knock them out much harder and more violently in the future, if they do not sign their Treaty FAST!’
He concluded by calling the destroyers part of a ‘Steel Wall’ in which the US Navy blockaded the strait.
This came as President Trump sent a one-page memo containing concessions to secure a permanent peace deal. The memo would lift US sanctions, release billions of dollars of frozen assets and pave the way for uranium enrichment.
The 14-point memorandum of understanding is being negotiated between senior Iranian officials and Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The White House believes the memo could create a framework to end the war within 48 hours.
If signed, it would open a 30-day window for both countries to negotiate a larger deal that would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting all U.S. sanctions on Iran and imposing new limits on its nuclear program.
According to Axios, the deal calls for Iran to halt all uranium enrichment for 12 to 15 years, with automatic extensions if Tehran violates the terms.
If signed, the agreement would formally end the war and open a 30-day window for both countries to negotiate a broader deal that would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting all U.S. sanctions on Iran and imposing new limits on its nuclear program.
Trump is scrambling to avoid anything like the 2015 Obama deal, which he trashed for years as the ‘worst deal ever’
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Musandam, Oman
Trump’s latest offer to Iran includes some key elements of the nuclear deal that Barack Obama signed and destroyed during the President’s first term
Another important provision would allow the regime to remove its stockpile of highly enriched uranium from the country, although the note did not specify a destination.
Trump is scrambling to avoid anything like the 2015 Obama deal, which he trashed for years as the “worst deal ever.” But the resulting framework reflects this in striking ways: Sanctions have been lifted, billions of dollars have been frozen, and Iran has been limited to the same 3.67 percent enrichment level that Obama agreed to.
Oil prices fell on news of the proposed agreement with Brent crude, the global benchmark, falling more than 10 percent to below $100 per barrel. Dow-linked stock futures rose 1.1 percent, S&P 500 futures rose 0.9 percent and Nasdaq futures rose 1.6 percent.
An Israeli source told CNN that behind the scenes, Israel has started to launch new attacks on Iran in case the agreement collapses, and that senior Iranian officials and the country’s energy infrastructure are targeted.
The bombardments were ready to be carried out on the eve of a ceasefire reached in early April and stepped up again this week after Iranian missiles were fired at the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
The source added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been cautious about Tehran’s peace proposals from the beginning, is said to have supported ‘a short campaign aimed at forcing Iran to make more concessions in the negotiations’.
