U.S. Strikes Iran After Trump Accuses Tehran of Ceasefire Violation in Strait of Hormuz

The United States carried out strikes on Iran on Friday after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of a "foolish violation" of a ceasefire agreement following drone attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

“struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites”

CNBC

CNBC reported that U.S. Central Command said its aircraft "struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites," after a one-way attack drone launched by Iran on Thursday struck the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely in the strait off the coast of Oman.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said the Ever Lovely was hit by a projectile and that the ship was able to continue its voyage, while Trump condemned the attack as a "foolish violation" of the ceasefire agreement.

The Guardian described the same sequence as Trump blaming Iran for a drone strike on a cargo ship in the strait, with one drone damaging the upper deck but the ship able to proceed.

In the immediate aftermath, Iran’s military later said it had retaliated for the strikes, as CNBC reported.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that "Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement," after saying one drone hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive cargo carrying ship and that the U.S. knocked down three other drones.

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the national security commission of the Iranian parliament, responded on X that "The U.S. attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again," and said the U.S. had shown it had "no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire."

AP News

Al Jazeera reported that Iran had not claimed responsibility for the attack, while two U.S. officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Thursday that Iran fired on the ship.

The Guardian added that the development came during a fragile time for the U.S. and Iran as they work to negotiate a permanent end to the war, with Iran increasingly challenging the region and the U.S. over its control of the Strait of Hormuz.

In parallel, Al Jazeera said the attack halted International Maritime Organization (IMO) efforts to escort hundreds of stranded vessels out of the Gulf, where more than 11,000 seafarers have been trapped for months.

The dispute unfolded as the U.S. and Iran negotiated an interim peace deal, with Al Jazeera describing a 60-day memorandum of understanding in which both sides agreed to lift naval blockades and open the Strait of Hormuz for free passage.

“a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MoU) recently signed between Washington and Tehran”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said the attack came as the IMO paused efforts to escort hundreds of stranded vessels out of the Gulf, and it reported that the Ever Lovely had chosen a southern route along the Omani coast rather than corridors designated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi defended Tehran’s position on Friday, writing on X that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making" that does not take Iran’s role into account.

The Guardian reported that the U.S. and Iran were still negotiating terms of the interim peace deal, including getting ships through the key strait and addressing the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

NBC News said at least 37 vessels had transited the strait or were in the process of doing so since Thursday’s incident, while Iran reiterated its warnings for ships to follow a Tehran-approved route.