US and Iran trade strikes putting new strain on Mideast ceasefire
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that they had attacked US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran, according to state television.
The US military had earlier announced that it had struck targets in Iran in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which it attributed to Tehran.
'If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,' the Guards said, according to a post by state TV on Telegram.
US forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions Friday after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jolting a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggled to contain the Middle East war.
US Central Command said the strikes were a response to 'unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces' that 'clearly violated the ceasefire.'
It described the operation as 'a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.'
Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city. It quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area.
'VIOLENCE WILL BE MET WITH VIOLENCE,' VANCE SAYS Tehran has said it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington after Thursday's attack on a cargo ship traveling near Oman's coast. President Donald Trump blamed the attack on Iran and said it violated last week's interim agreement.
'The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,' U.S. Central Command said in its statement announcing strikes, which it called 'a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.'
The U.S. military said it would continue to provide 'safe passage coordination and support' to commercial vessels transiting the strait.
Vice President JD Vance, once seen as a skeptic on U.S. intervention in Iran but now a Trump administration point person on the conflict, said the Americans have honored the ceasefire deal, also known as a memorandum of understanding.
'Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,' Vance said on X.
Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik after an explosion was heard there. The source said several warning shots had been fired from Sirik toward vessels that violated Strait of Hormuz regulations about five hours earlier, adding two warning missiles had also been launched from the nearby Karpan area toward the strategic waterway.
On Saturday, Iran's Mehr news agency cited the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan as saying that there was no damage to the port of Sirik after the attack by the U.S. The official said the port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities and equipment.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that in response its navy 'struck the locations where the terrorist U.S. military is stationed in the region' and warned that any further U.S. attacks would be met with a broader response, according to the statement carried on state media.
The ceasefire agreement gives Iran control over ship traffic in the strait, the Guards said.
'However, the United States, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given. If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,' the Revolutionary Guards said.
OIL PRICES FALL BEFORE LATEST STRIKES The U.S. did not immediately respond to Iran's report of striking American targets, a tactic that has sought to undermine U.S. allies in the region during the conflict.
Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said in response to the latest strikes that Trump has failed to show a commitment to the principles of negotiation or ceasefire.
'This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part,' Azizi posted on X.
Before the renewed outbreak of violence, oil prices fell about 3% on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses, in response to oil tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28.
Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world's biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.
Fertilizer shipments through the strait have also picked up, helping to assuage concerns about a spike in global food prices.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure regional allies about the interim pact — issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council calling for 'free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation' in the strait without tolls or 'attempts to assert control.'
Iran's foreign ministry said the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman, while Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, warned Washington's Gulf allies their survival depended on Tehran's tolerance.
AFP+ Reuters
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that they had attacked US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran, according to state television.
The US military had earlier announced that it had struck targets in Iran in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which it attributed to Tehran.
'If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,' the Guards said, according to a post by state TV on Telegram.
US forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions Friday after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jolting a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggled to contain the Middle East war.
US Central Command said the strikes were a response to 'unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces' that 'clearly violated the ceasefire.'
It described the operation as 'a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.'
Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city. It quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area.
'VIOLENCE WILL BE MET WITH VIOLENCE,' VANCE SAYS Tehran has said it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington after Thursday's attack on a cargo ship traveling near Oman's coast. President Donald Trump blamed the attack on Iran and said it violated last week's interim agreement.
'The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,' U.S. Central Command said in its statement announcing strikes, which it called 'a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.'
The U.S. military said it would continue to provide 'safe passage coordination and support' to commercial vessels transiting the strait.
Vice President JD Vance, once seen as a skeptic on U.S. intervention in Iran but now a Trump administration point person on the conflict, said the Americans have honored the ceasefire deal, also known as a memorandum of understanding.
'Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,' Vance said on X.
Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik after an explosion was heard there. The source said several warning shots had been fired from Sirik toward vessels that violated Strait of Hormuz regulations about five hours earlier, adding two warning missiles had also been launched from the nearby Karpan area toward the strategic waterway.
On Saturday, Iran's Mehr news agency cited the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan as saying that there was no damage to the port of Sirik after the attack by the U.S. The official said the port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities and equipment.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that in response its navy 'struck the locations where the terrorist U.S. military is stationed in the region' and warned that any further U.S. attacks would be met with a broader response, according to the statement carried on state media.
The ceasefire agreement gives Iran control over ship traffic in the strait, the Guards said.
'However, the United States, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given. If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,' the Revolutionary Guards said.
OIL PRICES FALL BEFORE LATEST STRIKES The U.S. did not immediately respond to Iran's report of striking American targets, a tactic that has sought to undermine U.S. allies in the region during the conflict.
Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said in response to the latest strikes that Trump has failed to show a commitment to the principles of negotiation or ceasefire.
'This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part,' Azizi posted on X.
Before the renewed outbreak of violence, oil prices fell about 3% on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses, in response to oil tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28.
Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world's biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.
Fertilizer shipments through the strait have also picked up, helping to assuage concerns about a spike in global food prices.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure regional allies about the interim pact — issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council calling for 'free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation' in the strait without tolls or 'attempts to assert control.'
Iran's foreign ministry said the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman, while Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, warned Washington's Gulf allies their survival depended on Tehran's tolerance.
AFP+ Reuters
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that they had attacked US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran, according to state television.
The US military had earlier announced that it had struck targets in Iran in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which it attributed to Tehran.
'If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,' the Guards said, according to a post by state TV on Telegram.
US forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions Friday after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jolting a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggled to contain the Middle East war.
US Central Command said the strikes were a response to 'unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces' that 'clearly violated the ceasefire.'
It described the operation as 'a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.'
Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city. It quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area.
'VIOLENCE WILL BE MET WITH VIOLENCE,' VANCE SAYS Tehran has said it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington after Thursday's attack on a cargo ship traveling near Oman's coast. President Donald Trump blamed the attack on Iran and said it violated last week's interim agreement.
'The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,' U.S. Central Command said in its statement announcing strikes, which it called 'a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.'
The U.S. military said it would continue to provide 'safe passage coordination and support' to commercial vessels transiting the strait.
Vice President JD Vance, once seen as a skeptic on U.S. intervention in Iran but now a Trump administration point person on the conflict, said the Americans have honored the ceasefire deal, also known as a memorandum of understanding.
'Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,' Vance said on X.
Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik after an explosion was heard there. The source said several warning shots had been fired from Sirik toward vessels that violated Strait of Hormuz regulations about five hours earlier, adding two warning missiles had also been launched from the nearby Karpan area toward the strategic waterway.
On Saturday, Iran's Mehr news agency cited the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan as saying that there was no damage to the port of Sirik after the attack by the U.S. The official said the port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities and equipment.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that in response its navy 'struck the locations where the terrorist U.S. military is stationed in the region' and warned that any further U.S. attacks would be met with a broader response, according to the statement carried on state media.
The ceasefire agreement gives Iran control over ship traffic in the strait, the Guards said.
'However, the United States, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given. If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,' the Revolutionary Guards said.
OIL PRICES FALL BEFORE LATEST STRIKES The U.S. did not immediately respond to Iran's report of striking American targets, a tactic that has sought to undermine U.S. allies in the region during the conflict.
Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said in response to the latest strikes that Trump has failed to show a commitment to the principles of negotiation or ceasefire.
'This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part,' Azizi posted on X.
Before the renewed outbreak of violence, oil prices fell about 3% on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses, in response to oil tankers exiting the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on February 28.
Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world's biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.
Fertilizer shipments through the strait have also picked up, helping to assuage concerns about a spike in global food prices.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure regional allies about the interim pact — issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council calling for 'free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation' in the strait without tolls or 'attempts to assert control.'
Iran's foreign ministry said the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman, while Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran's supreme leader, warned Washington's Gulf allies their survival depended on Tehran's tolerance.
AFP+ Reuters
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US and Iran trade strikes putting new strain on Mideast ceasefire
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