US conducts strikes on Iran after attack on cargo ship
The US military launched an attack on Iranian targets after President Donald Trump accused Iran of “stupidly violating” the ceasefire following an attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
No casualties were reported after the ship was struck by a one-way attack drone on Thursday; This incident led to the planned evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the area.
In response, U.S. Central Command said Friday it struck missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions. There has been no statement from Iran yet.
Just before the attacks were announced, President Trump said “you’ll see” when asked if the United States would respond to the Iranian attack.
U.S. Central Command, or Centcom, called the strikes a “strong response” to the drone attack in a statement.
The statement also said, “The unwarranted attack by Iranian forces on commercial shipping clearly violated the ceasefire.”
“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior has undermined freedom of navigation as trade increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”
Centcom said the US military “will continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial ships passing through the strait.”
After U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February, Tehran effectively closed the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments, causing a rise in global oil prices and halting shipments of other important goods such as fertilizer.
The United States and Iran agreed to end hostilities on June 17 as part of a 14-article memorandum of understanding that called on Iran to “make its best efforts to ensure the free and safe passage of commercial ships for 60 days.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon, Trump refused to be drawn into questions about how the United States would respond or whether he still viewed the ceasefire as intact.
“You will learn,” he said. “I don’t like the fact that they shot yesterday. They shouldn’t be doing that.”
When asked why he believed Iran would carry out such an operation, Trump said only that “they are a little different.”
