The U.S. military attacked Iran on Friday in response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, throwing the fate of the interim peace deal recently agreed between the two countries into question.
U.S. Central Command said aircraft struck missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites. Iranian media said a projectile struck an area around a pier in Sirik, a city on the shores of the strategic waterway.
Elsewhere, there were some signs of progress as Israel and Lebanon signed a deal to end the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Both sides described it as a first step, calling for Hezbollah to disarm and for Israel to pull its troops out of Lebanon, though how it would be enforced remained unclear. Hezbollah, however, said it would not cooperate.
IRAN WARNS GULF STATES
Tehran has insisted 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. U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the attack on Iran and said it violated last week's agreement.
Iran had expressed anger at what it said was an "interventionist, irresponsible and provocative" statement by the United States and six Gulf states that rejected its assertion that it could charge tolls on vessels transiting the strait.
"Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making that does not take Iran's role as a coastal state into account," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X.
Bloomberg News reported that Oman, located on the opposite side of the strait from Iran, had informed its allies that ships passing through Hormuz might be required to pay. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the report.
Iranian state TV said three foreign tankers attempting what it called an "unauthorised passage" of the strait were turned back after a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It gave no further details.