Miami (EFE).- The United States military launched strikes against Iran on Friday in retaliation for an attack by the Islamic Republic on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz from the day before. The strike occurred despite an agreement between Tehran and Washington to reopen the waterway, according to US Central Command (Centcom).
US aircraft targeted Iranian drone and missile storage facilities, as well as coastal radar bases, the Florida-based Centcom said in a statement, accusing Iran of violating the ceasefire.
The military command justified the strikes as a “powerful response” to Iran’s Thursday attack on the Singapore-flagged vessel M/V Ever Lovely as it was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the coast of Oman.
Central Command denounced the “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” as a clear violation of the ceasefire.
“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor,” it stated.
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of a “foolish” violation of the ceasefire for launching “at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz.”
The incident occurred 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Duqm, Oman, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which advised vessels in the waterway, a route for 20% of global crude oil, to exercise caution.
This is the first recorded attack in the area since the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17, which aimed to end hostilities, reopen traffic in the Strait, and negotiate a final agreement addressing the Iranian nuclear program.
Centcom affirmed that US forces “continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait.”
“The US military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect,” it concluded. EFE
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