U.S. Strikes Iran After Drone Attack on M/V Ever Lovely in Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military hit Iranian targets on Friday after a drone attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, with CBS News reporting that the strikes targeted Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and radar sites.

“US President Donald Trump has condemned what he called Iran’s “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a drone struck a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz”

Al Jazeera

CBS News said a U.S. official told it that American aircraft hit multiple targets along the Strait of Hormuz and on Iran's Qeshm Island, and that the strikes were now over.

Al Jazeera

President Donald Trump called the drone attack a "foolish violation" of the ceasefire agreement, and NBC News reported that the U.S. launched strikes on Friday in response to the drone attacks on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

NBC News identified the struck vessel as the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast, and said Central Command reported the U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites.

CBS News added that the strikes marked the first American strikes on Iran since the two countries agreed to extend an already rickety ceasefire last week.

CENTCOM told CBS News that "The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire," as the U.S. described its response as a "powerful response" to Iran's "dangerous behavior."

When asked by reporters Friday if Iran would face any consequences, CBS News reported that Trump replied: "You'll find out."

AP News

NBC News reported that Trump said Iran allegedly shot at least four drones at ships traveling through the Strait on Thursday, and that the U.S. knocked down the three other drones after one hit the upper deck of a cargo carrying ship.

CNBC said Iran's military vowed to respond in a "swift and decisive manner" after U.S. strikes, and it reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it announced its "counteraction" against the attack on Sirik Island.

CNBC also quoted the IRGC statement that "We emphasize that this aggression will not go unanswered" and warned that any new "foolishness" would be met with a harsh response.

The attack on the Ever Lovely triggered a pause in UN maritime evacuation efforts, with AP News reporting that a United Nations agency paused the evacuation of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman.

AP News quoted the head of the International Maritime Organization saying the plan to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait will be on hold until the agency can confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region.

AP News said a U.S. official told it the vessel was hit by an Iranian drone, and it reported that the UK Maritime Trade Operations center said the vessel sustained damage but reported no injuries or environmental effects from the attack off the coast of Oman.

In a separate account, Al Jazeera reported that the IMO said it temporarily suspended its evacuation framework for hundreds of ships and thousands of seafarers after an attack in the Gulf of Oman, and it said the IMO’s Secretary-General Arsenio Domínguez decided to suspend implementation to ensure safety guarantees.

Al Jazeera also reported that preliminary IMO data showed about 57 ships carrying an estimated 1,100 seafarers had transited the Strait of Hormuz under the evacuation plan from June 23 through this morning.