The US and Iran are exchanging strikes and accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement
The US has launched new strikes on Iran, following a drone attack on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said it had hit several targets across Iran in direct response to the “continuing violence” against the shipment.
In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched missiles and drones at American facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, in a statement sent to the media.
After the exchange of fire, the US and Iran accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Centcom said in a statement, “Iran was given the opportunity to honor the ceasefire agreement but chose not to when its forces attacked a drone that crashed into the MT Kiku,” a Panamanian-flagged cruise ship.
In response, it said, Centcom hit military equipment, communications systems, air defense facilities and drone storage facilities.
In a statement by the IRGC, it said that the US had attacked five coastal areas in Iran under what it called “the IRGC Navy’s attack against the offending vessel”.
In retaliation, the IRGC said it launched missiles and drones at “eight key pieces of infrastructure” at the Ali al-Salem base in Kuwait and the Fifth Naval Fleet at Port Salman, Bahrain, “destroying” them.
A US official told Reuters there were no reported US casualties or major impacts or damage to US facilities in the Middle East.
It said that under the Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this month, Iran has plans to control the passage and movement in the Strait of Hormuz, and from now on, vessels that violate the law will be dealt with more forcefully than before.
“Any possible enemy attack, under any pretext, even if the attack is against small targets, as happened last night and tonight, will be met with a repressive response,” the statement read.
It also accused the US of violating the peace agreement agreed in the cooperation agreement between the two nations, warning that it would “lead to a complete suspension of the system”.
Shortly after the latest US strikes on Iran were announced, Trump said on Truth Social that it was “very likely” that Tehran would “never learn”.
“It may come to a point where we will no longer be able to consider it, and we will be forced to militarily finish the job we have successfully started,” he wrote on Saturday evening.
The post continued: “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!”
In the hours following the US strikes, Kuwait and Bahrain both reported that their air defense systems had been activated.
“Kuwait’s air defenses are currently facing missile and drone attacks,” the Kuwait Armed Forces said in a statement sent to X, asking the public to follow security instructions.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior urged citizens to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.
Centcom said commercial vessels continue to operate in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest strikes come less than a day after the US launched retaliatory strikes against Iran which it said was in response to the June 25 attack on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Ever Lovely.
Centcom described the US strikes as a “strong response” to the attack on the cargo ship, adding that the “unnecessary aggression against commercial vessels carried out by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire”.
Tehran said the cargo ship was attacked because it was using an unauthorized route to pass through the Gulf waterway, and said the retaliatory strikes were a violation of the US ceasefire agreement.
In a statement released on Saturday morning, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had carried out several strikes against US military-related targets in response, and blamed “the US regime for violating the agreement” for the situation.
The US and Iran agreed on June 17 to end hostilities under a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which also called on Iran to use “its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels without charge for 60 days”.
The Strait of Hormuz is an important waterway for oil and gas exports, and was effectively closed by Tehran after the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran at the end of February.
The closure of the critical channel caused a spike in global oil prices and prevented the export of other essential commodities such as fertiliser.
