The U.S. military carried out strikes against Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday night for the second time in under 24 hours, President Donald Trump announced in a statement.
These strikes followed a reported drone attack on a commercial cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening. President Trump stated that Iran launched at least four one-way attack drones at ships transiting the strait, three of which were intercepted by U.S. forces.
One of the drones managed to get through and strike a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel, which sustained damage but was ultimately able to proceed.
“Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz. … Damage was done but the ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” the president announced in a Truth Social post.
U.S. Central Command described the strikes as a response to “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” that “clearly violated the ceasefire.” The command added that the actions undermined freedom of navigation in the vital international trade corridor.
In a follow-up post, President Trump warned Iran against further aggression and indicated that the ceasefire — which has been in place since mid-April — could be on the verge of collapse.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN,” Trump wrote. “It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
The latest flare-up of violence marks the most intense exchanges of fire since a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), also referred to as the Islamabad Memorandum, signed between the United States and Iran in mid-June. The agreement suspended hostilities and established a framework for a permanent peace deal, with the U.S. lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports on June 18.
Iran has reported conducting retaliatory actions against U.S. positions in Bahrain and Kuwait following the U.S. strikes.
The situation remains fluid, with both sides maintaining their positions on compliance with the existing agreement while pursuing diplomatic channels. U.S. Central Command has not released detailed assessments of damage from the strikes, and Iranian officials have described the U.S. actions as violations of commitments during ongoing talks.
