US conducts retaliatory strikes on Iran after second shipping attack

The United States has carried out new strikes against targets in Iran, escalating tensions following a drone attack on a Panama-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. U.S. Central Command (Centcom) announced that multiple sites across Iran were hit in direct retaliation for "continued aggression" against commercial shipping.

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Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit MT Kiku.

Centcom specified that the targets included military equipment, communication systems, air defense sites, and drone storage facilities. The command stated that Iran had been given an opportunity to adhere to a ceasefire agreement but failed to do so when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that struck the MT Kiku, a tanker flying the Panamanian flag. Commercial vessels, however, continue to operate in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Centcom. Iran has not yet issued a comment on these latest strikes.

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a powerful response

These actions come less than a day after the U.S. conducted initial retaliatory strikes, which it said were in response to a drone attack on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Ever Lovely on June 25. Centcom described those earlier strikes as a "powerful response" to the attack, asserting that the "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire."

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unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire

Iran's foreign ministry stated that the cargo ship was targeted for using an unauthorized route through the Gulf waterway and that the U.S. retaliatory strikes constituted a violation of the ceasefire. In a statement released Saturday morning, Iran's foreign ministry claimed it had conducted further strikes against targets linked to American forces and blamed the "treaty-breaking U.S. regime" for the escalating situation. The U.S. and Iran had previously agreed on June 17 to end hostilities under a 14-point memorandum of understanding, which included a 60-day period for the safe passage of commercial vessels without charge.

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treaty-breaking US regime