US carries out fresh strikes against Iran after tanker struck in Hormuz, escalating hostilities
Written by: Jana Choukeir and Jasper Ward
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. military said it had struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, in the worst escalation since the two sides signed an interim peace deal two weeks ago.
Each warring side accused the other of violating an agreement reached two weeks ago to end the four-month conflict.
U.S. Central Command said Saturday that its forces launched new strikes after a Panamanian-flagged tanker was attacked by an Iranian drone early Saturday. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran in the early hours of Sunday local time, but did not provide further details.
“Iran was given the chance to comply with the ceasefire agreement but chose not to,” US Central Command said in a statement. he said. He said the attacks were “a direct response to Iran’s ongoing aggression against commercial shipping” and targeted Iran’s military surveillance, communications, air defense, drone storage and mine-laying facilities.
A US defense official later reported that the strikes against Iranian targets had been completed, according to Fox News.
Washington has previously said it struck Iranian targets overnight. Iran said it responded by striking targets linked to US forces on Saturday.
The attack on a tanker in the strait on Saturday followed another attack on a cargo ship on Thursday, triggering the latest tension. Iran has made a new attempt to gain control over the world’s most important energy transportation route, which has begun to reopen after months of disruption.
Britain’s UKMTO maritime safety agency reported that the bridge of the tanker that was hit on Saturday was damaged and that all crew members were safe. The Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a coalition of navies that protect shipping, has raised the security threat level as a result of recent events.
Iran did not comment directly on reports of specific attacks on ships. However, Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guard fired “warning shots” at unspecified ships trying to pass through channels not approved by Iran, prompting other ships to now seek permission from Iran before trying to cross the strait.
Earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry announced that it had launched “defensive” attacks on US-linked military targets, while Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s regional headquarters, reported that Iran launched an attack with a drone. The US military did not immediately respond to the reports.
IRAN CHECKED THE CONTROL OF THE VITAL STRAIT
Iran accused the United States of not supporting the interim agreement, particularly of failing to maintain a promised ceasefire in Lebanon, which U.S. ally Israel invaded in March in pursuit of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Israel and Lebanon have repeatedly agreed to US-brokered ceasefires, the latest of which was announced on Friday. But their overall impact was only limited; Israel has insisted it will not withdraw from captured territory, and Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected calls to lay down its arms as long as Israeli troops remain in place.
Lebanese state television reported that Israel carried out a drone attack on Saturday in the southern Nabatiyeh region, which was subject to Israeli attacks throughout the conflict. The Israeli army said it targeted a person who posed a threat to its forces.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qasim rejected the one-day Israel-Lebanon agreement as a surrender, saying it was “null and void.”
While hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, especially Shiite Muslims, are still unable to return to their homes in Israeli-occupied areas, anger over the agreement has spread beyond Hezbollah to the Shiite community in general.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the agreement, saying it allowed Israel to continue its occupation of the so-called security zone in Lebanon and prevented the return of displaced residents.
Mohsen Rezaei, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, said Washington was violating the memorandum of understanding that ended the war by supporting what he called proxy forces in the region and creating tension in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has also attacked neighboring Gulf states that host major US military bases. Iranian state television said the Revolutionary Guard gave a “decisive response” after US forces hit a communications tower in the port city of Sirik. Iran’s Mehr news agency said the Iranian port was operating normally and no damage to facilities or equipment was reported.
Bahrain said Iran’s latest attacks violated the memorandum of understanding.
Hundreds of ships, including oil-laden tankers, have been blockaded in the Gulf since the start of the war. As they began to leave the strait in the past two weeks, oil prices approached pre-war levels due to the increase in supply.
While Washington is promoting a southern route along the Omani coast, Tehran, which ultimately aims to charge for use of the strait, wants ships to use the northern route through its waters and under its control.
Ibrahim Azizi, chairman of Iran’s parliament’s national security committee, said on Saturday that any violation of Iran’s shipping instructions would be dealt with decisively.
US Vice President J.D. Vance, President Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the conflict, said the Americans remained committed to the ceasefire agreement and blamed Iran for any return to conflict that might result from its actions.
Vance told
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Writing by Peter Graff and David Morgan, Editing by Chris Reese, Andrew Heavens, Alexander Smith Alistair Bell, Rod Nickel)
