Iran has vowed to retaliate to US strikes after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of breaching a ceasefire by carrying out a drone attack on a commercial cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attack, which occurred on Thursday, involved a one-way drone striking the vessel. No injuries were reported, but the incident prompted plans to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors who remain stranded across the region.
On Friday, US Central Command confirmed it had responded by targeting Iranian drone and missile storage sites, along with coastal radar installations.
Before the operation was publicly announced, Mr Trump hinted retaliation was imminent when asked whether the US would respond to the attack, telling reporters “You’ll see.”
In a statement, Centcom described the operation as “a powerful response” to the drone strike.
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” it said.
“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behaviour undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”
Centcom said US forces would “continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait” as tensions remain elevated in one of the world’s busiest shipping passages.
Iran has since threatened retaliation following the latest US strikes, with the Iranian Revolutionary Gaurd Corps warning of a “swift and decisive” response.
Iranian state television claimed the country’s forces had thwarted an American attack on Sirik Island, located near the Strait of Hormuz.
The Guards also said they had carried out counter strikes against US military positions in the region, although they did not specify which bases or facilities were targeted.
Following the US retaliatory strikes, Vice-President JD Vance said in a statement on X that if Iran “has disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone”.
“But violence will be met with violence,” he wrote.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement on Friday, warning “If the aggression is repeated our response will be more extensive than this.”
“The treaty-breaking US regime as always violated its commitments and launched an airstrike on the coast of the Islamic Republic of Iran under various pretexts of a ship violating an unauthorised route in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said.
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