US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Friday that American forces conducted military strikes on Iran in a “powerful response” to an Iranian drone attack on a commercial ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian drone storage facilities and coastal radar sites were hit by US warplanes in retaliation for the Thursday attack on the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship.
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” read a statement released by CENTCOM. “Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”
“CENTCOM forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait,” the statement continued. “The U.S. military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect.”
President Trump telegraphed the US military response to the attack on the Ever Lovely about an hour before CENTCOM’s announcement.
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“You’ll find out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, when asked if Iran would face consequences for the cease-fire violation.
The resumption of military operations comes just nine days after Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding to end fighting and kick off 60-days of talks for a grand deal to end Tehran’s nuclear program.
The ramifications were not immediately clear within the US government, as much depends on whether the strikes begin a tit-for-tat cycle of escalation.
Iran’s early ceasefire violation and military attacks don’t bode well for the peace process ahead, a Trump administration source and a different person close to the White House said.
Another military source did not expect a full return to war, and described the US as choosing non-escalatory targets — similar to retaliation operations to ceasefire violations before the MOU.
Trump previously said on April 8 that limited fighting could break out without upending a diplomatic deal, explaining that a Middle East ceasefire means “you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”
Multiple reports indicated several explosions had been heard in the coastal city of Sirik, ahead of CENTCOM’s announcement.
Fox News reported that retaliatory strikes on Iran were “ongoing” as of 5 p.m. ET.
In a statement shared by the state-run ISNA news agency, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed that the “aggression will not go unanswered, and our response will be swift and decisive at a time and place of our choosing.”
Follow The Post’s latest coverage on the blocked Strait of Hormuz and its lasting effects
“Any new foolishness will be met with a harsh response,” the IRGC warned.
In a social media post prior to the US strikes, Trump noted that “the Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz” on Thursday.
“One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We knocked down three other Drones.”
“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” he added.
Trump gave no indication that he intended to resume full-scale war on Iran during his remarks on Friday at the Faith & Freedom Coalition Conference at the Washington Hilton.
“We still have a fight. They have some capability, not much,” he said. “They’re not winning or anything. But they have some. They shot a drone yesterday at a big ship going into the Hormuz Strait. They shot four of them. We knocked down three of them.
“One of them — we didn’t miss it, nobody saw it coming — and it hit a ship and did some damage. But can’t do that stuff.”
Iran launched the attack drone at the Singaporean ship after warning vessels to ignore a new US-approved shipping route along the Omani coast and instead use a different Tehran-preferred route.
“Without notice or coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, some authorities announced a new route for ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seethed in a statement Thursday morning.
“It is hereby notified to all that the only authorized route for passing through the Strait of Hormuz is the one declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the IRGC added. “Vessel traffic outside these routes is extremely dangerous and prohibited. Violators will be dealt with.”
