The United States struck targets inside Iran on Friday in retaliation for an Iranian drone attack on a commercial cargo ship a day earlier, marking the first US strikes on Iran since the two countries agreed last week to extend a fragile ceasefire.
US Central Command said American aircraft hit Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar installations, calling it a “powerful response” to what it described as Iran’s “dangerous behavior” toward shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. A US official said the strikes hit four targets along the strait and on Iran’s Qeshm Island, carried out by six land-based aircraft.
President Donald Trump said Iran fired at least four drones at vessels transiting the strait Thursday, with three intercepted and one striking the upper deck of the cargo ship Ever Lovely. “It took a little beating,” Trump told reporters, calling the attack a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire. Asked whether Iran would face consequences, he said: “You’ll find out.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had already retaliated against US military installations in the region, warning that “in the event of repeated aggression, our response will be more extensive than this.”
The exchange is the most serious test yet of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed June 17, which paused months of fighting that began after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran in late February. The agreement calls on Iran to use its “best efforts” to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days, but disputes have persisted over which routes ships may use and whether Iran can collect tolls once that window closes.
The attack disrupted a separate effort by the UN’s International Maritime Organization to evacuate roughly 500 ships still stranded in the Persian Gulf after some 115 vessels had already moved out via an alternate route along Oman’s coast. The IMO said it paused the evacuation and would not resume until it secures guarantees against further attacks.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on social media that the US has honored the ceasefire and that Iran should raise any disputes through diplomatic channels rather than force, adding: “Violence will be met with violence.” US and Iranian officials are separately due to hold talks over the next two months on Iran’s nuclear program.
