CENTCOM confirms US airstrikes targeted Iranian missile and drone sites after Iran violated the ceasefire by attacking a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Explosions were heard on Friday evening on the island of Sirik in southern Iran, local media reported. A senior US official confirmed to reporters that the US was striking Iranian targets in the area of the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement which said that its forces conducted strikes against Iran “as a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz."
According to the statement, US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone. It added that the Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack. “The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire. Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor," said CENTCOM.
“CENTCOM forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait. The US military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect." he Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that their response to the US strikes would be "swift and decisive." They further claimed to have repelled a US attack in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes came minutes after US President Donald Trump hinted that the US could retaliate for Iran’s violation of the ceasefire on Thursday. (Source)
