WASHINGTON ( WNAM MONITORING): The United States and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes on Saturday, sharply escalating tensions and threatening a fragile ceasefire and ongoing negotiations over security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US military positions in the region in response to what it described as a fresh American attack on Iran.
“The response to a fresh US attack against Iran will be swift and decisive,” an earlier IRGC statement carried by the semi-official ISNA news agency said before it was later deleted.
The Guards did not provide details on the locations of the US positions that were targeted.
The latest exchange came after the US military said it carried out strikes on Friday against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar installations.
US Central Command said the attacks were launched in retaliation for an Iranian drone strike a day earlier on the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Ever Lovely as it exited the Strait of Hormuz through a UN-backed temporary shipping corridor.
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” US Central Command said in a statement on X.
“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”
Iranian media reported that a projectile struck the area around a pier in Sirik in southern Iran following the US strikes.
‘Foolish violations’
President Donald Trump earlier condemned the attack on the cargo vessel, saying one Iranian drone had struck the ship’s upper deck while three others were intercepted.
“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Speaking at the White House shortly before the retaliatory strikes, Trump said: “I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them.”
Asked why military action was being taken while negotiations with Tehran were continuing, Trump replied that Iran was “a little bit different” before abruptly ending the exchange with reporters.
A US official told The Associated Press that the strikes against Iranian targets were still ongoing even after Central Command publicly confirmed the operation.
Dispute over Strait of Hormuz
The latest violence comes at a delicate moment as Washington and Tehran attempt to negotiate a permanent end to the war under an interim agreement reached last week.
Iran has increasingly asserted its control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, defended Tehran’s actions on social media.
“The Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules,” he wrote, adding that the measures taken by Tehran amounted to “ceasefire management” rather than a violation of the truce.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also reasserted Iran’s position, warning Gulf states against siding with Washington after the United States and six Gulf countries rejected Tehran’s insistence that it could impose tolls on vessels transiting the waterway.
“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 as a coastal state into account,” Gharibabadi said on X.
Iranian state television also reported that three foreign tankers attempting what it called an “unauthorized passage” through the strait had been turned back after warnings from the Revolutionary Guards.
A US official said Washington was aware of the reports and was looking into them, reiterating that Iran could not interfere with the free flow of maritime traffic.
Shipping concerns mount
The attack on the Ever Lovely occurred as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was attempting to evacuate hundreds of stranded vessels from the Strait of Hormuz through an alternative route hugging Oman’s coastline.
The UN maritime agency suspended the operation after the attack and said it would not resume until assurances were received that ships could transit safely.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said around 115 vessels had managed to leave the strait in recent days, but approximately 500 remained in the area.
The alternative shipping corridor had been expected to ease pressure on the global economy and reduce Iran’s leverage in ongoing negotiations with the United States.
Washington and Tehran are continuing talks under a 60-day interim agreement that seeks to resolve disputes over maritime security and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The latest exchange of fire, however, has raised fresh doubts over whether the two sides can preserve the ceasefire long enough to reach a permanent settlement.
