The United States launched airstrikes against Iran on Friday night, targeting missile and drone storage facilities as well as coastal radar sites, in direct retaliation for a drone attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by announcing strikes against American military positions in the Gulf on Saturday, warning that any further US action would draw a larger response.
The vessel struck by Iranian drones was the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that was exiting the Strait along the Omani coast. Its owner, Evergreen Marine, confirmed that the ship sustained damage to its bridge windows, but reported no injuries, no impact on cargo, and no loss of seaworthiness. The main engine and navigation equipment remained operational as the vessel departed the Strait.
US Central Command said a US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites. President Donald Trump had described the drone attack as a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement signed just last week, under which the Strait of Hormuz was to reopen and Iran agreed to allow safe passage of commercial vessels, free of charge, for 60 days.
Vance warns Iran: 'Violence will be met with violence'
Vice President JD Vance issued a pointed warning after the US strikes, writing on X that Iran had signed a ceasefire agreement which Washington had honoured. "If they have disagreements about how the MoU is being implemented, they can pick up the phone," he wrote. "But violence will be met with violence."
The IRGC, for its part, said the US had provoked the situation by encouraging other parties to violate Iran's navigation arrangements in the Strait, under which Tehran claims responsibility for overseeing passage. "The necessary response was given and will continue in the future," the IRGC said, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. "In case of repeated aggression, our response will be broader than this."
Iranian state media also reported that a projectile struck an area near a jetty in the town of Sirik, and that Iranian forces had earlier fired warning shots at vessels they accused of crossing established limits in the Strait.
A ceasefire already under pressure
The Strait of Hormuz has been a central point of contention throughout the conflict. The memorandum of understanding signed last week stipulated that the waterway, through which roughly 20% of the world's oil passed before the war, would reopen to commercial traffic. Iran has insisted on vessels following Tehran-approved routes, but some ships have been travelling along an alternative course hugging the coastlines of the UAE and Oman's Musandam Peninsula, a route coordinated by the International Maritime Organization. It is precisely that navigational dispute that appears to have triggered Thursday's drone attack on the Ever Lovely.
US forces said they are continuing to escort commercial vessels through the Strait and remain present in the area to ensure all sides uphold the terms of the agreement.
Source: AP, NBC News, Al Jazeera
