US strikes Iran in response to drone strike on commercial ship
The new strikes come in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Ever Lovely in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has renewed
The new strikes come in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Ever Lovely in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has renewed its attacks against Iran, in response to an incident a day earlier when a cargo vessel was allegedly struck by an Iranian drone. On Friday, the US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said it had issued a “powerful response to yesterday’s attack”. “U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.” US strikes were reported near the southern Iranian port of Sirik after the announcement. The country’s president, Donald Trump, had warned earlier in the day that he considered the attack on the Singapore-registered commercial vessel, the Ever Lovely, a “foolish violation” of the June 17 memorandum of understanding signed between the US and Iran. That memorandum had called for a “permanent” end to “military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”, effectively pausing the war the US and Israel had launched against Iran on February 28.
But the memorandum was not final but was rather framed as a precursor to further negotiations, including over passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global trade. Since the start of the war, Iran has shut down traffic through the strait, forcing prices for fuel, fertiliser and other goods to shoot upwards. The memorandum of understanding was meant to trigger a 60-day period wherein Iran was charged with making its “best efforts” to allow commercial vessels to pass through the strait at no charge. But the fragile ceasefire has struggled to hold, as Israel has continued to bombard Lebanon, in violation of the memorandum’s terms. Iran, in response, said last week that it would close the Strait of Hormuz once more as a result of the attacks in Lebanon. On Thursday, the Ever Lovely was passing through the waterway, near the coast of Oman, when it was struck by a projectile. No crew members were injured, and the container ship was able to continue its travels.
Trump blamed Iran, saying the country “shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz”. He claimed to have knocked down three of the drones, but the fourth hit its target. “One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship,” Trump wrote of the Ever Lovely in Friday’s social media post. Later, at a news conference, reporters asked Trump if the ceasefire inked in the June 17 memorandum was still in place. “ I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday,” he said, before proceeding to briefly describe the damage to the Ever Lovely. “It took a little beating. They shouldn’t be doing that. So you’ll find out.” In Friday’s statement, CENTCOM confirmed that the Trump administration viewed the attack on the Ever Lovely ran afoul of the memorandum. “The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” CENTCOM wrote. “Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.” The US military pledged to “continue to provide safe passage” to all commercial vessels in the strait, and it called on all parties to adhere to the memorandum.
The BriefWire