The United States has carried out new strikes against Iran, following a drone attack on a Panama-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
US Central Command (Centcom) said it struck several targets across Iran in direct response to the “continued aggression” against commercial shipping.
In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched missiles and drones at US infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain, in a statement shared with state media.
After the exchange of fire, the United States and Iran accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Centcom said in a statement: “Iran had the opportunity to honor the ceasefire agreement, but chose not to do so when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit the MT Kiku,” a Panama-flagged oil tanker.
In response, U.S. warplanes carried out strikes on 10 Iranian military targets at several locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz. These included military equipment, communications systems, air defense sites and drone storage facilities.
In the IRGC statement, it said the United States attacked five coastal posts in Iran under what it called “the pretext of the IRGC navy confronting the offending vessel.”
In retaliation, the IRGC said it launched ballistic missiles and drones at “eight key pieces of infrastructure” at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Naval Fleet in Port Salman, Bahrain, “destroying” them.
A U.S. official told Reuters that no U.S. casualties or major impacts or damage to U.S. facilities in the Middle East had been reported.
The IRGC said that under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month, Iran has made arrangements to control passage and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and that from now on, violating vessels will be cracked down with more force than in the past.
“Any potential aggression by the enemy, under any pretext, even if the attacks are aimed at minor targets, as happened last night and tonight, will be met with an overwhelming response,” the statement read.
He also accused the United States of violating the ceasefire agreed in the memorandum of understanding between the two countries, warning that this would “lead to a complete shutdown of the process.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned what it called “brutal attacks,” a violation of the ceasefire, adding that it showed that the United States “does not place the slightest value or credibility on its commitments, and that breaking promises is part of its nature.”
Shortly after the latest US strikes against Iran were announced, Trump said on Truth Social that it was “very possible” that Tehran would “never learn.”
“There may come a time when we will no longer be able to be reasonable and will be forced to complete militarily the work we have started with great success,” he wrote Saturday evening.
The message continues: “If this happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist! »
In the hours following the US strikes, Kuwait and Bahrain both reported that their air defense systems had been activated.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently facing hostile missile and drone attacks,” the Kuwaiti Armed Forces said in a statement shared with X, asking the public to respect security instructions.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged citizens to “remain calm and move towards the nearest place of safety.”
Centcom said commercial vessels continue to operate in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest strikes come less than a day after the United States launched retaliatory strikes against Iran in response to a drone attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship, the MV Ever Lovely, on June 25.
Centcom described the US strikes as “a powerful response” to the cargo ship attack, adding that “the unjustified aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire.”
Tehran said the cargo ship was attacked because it was using an unauthorized route to transit the Gulf waterway, and said the retaliatory strikes were a violation of the ceasefire by the United States.
In a statement released Saturday morning, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had carried out more strikes against targets linked to U.S. forces in response, and blamed the situation on the “treaty-violating U.S. regime.”
The United States and Iran agreed on June 17 to end hostilities under a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which also called on Iran to use “all efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels, free of charge, for 60 days.”
The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway for oil and gas shipments and was effectively closed by Tehran after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February.
The closure of this critical channel has caused global oil prices to spike and prevented shipments of other crucial products such as fertilizer.
In recent days, Trump and other U.S. officials have insisted that negotiations with Iran are progressing well, saying Iran has dropped any suggestion of tolls for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
In an article published Wednesday by Truth Social, Trump said Iran had informed the United States that there would be “no tolls, no insurance fees, and no other charges of any kind would be requested or received.”
“If this is false information, negotiations will end immediately,” he added.
The United States has condemned reports that Iran charges fees for oil tankers crossing the strait, and many view any toll system as a violation of international maritime law.
On Tuesday, Iranian and Omani officials held talks in Oman’s capital Muscat to discuss “the future management of navigation”, although Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi said the two countries were committed to “safe and cost-free passage”.
However, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, told state-affiliated media that “everyone should know that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never return to what it was before the war.”
