US warplanes struck military targets on Iran's southern coast after accusing Iran of attacking a commercial vessel with a drone in the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump blamed Iran for the attack on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely on June 25, claiming the attack violated the ceasefire between the two sides.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in an official statement, "US aircraft targeted Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar facilities after Iran struck the M/V Ever Lovely with a one-way attack drone on June 25." The strikes focused on facilities in the Sirik area east of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed in a statement after midnight local time that the US strikes targeted Sirik. The IRGC threatened retaliation "at a time and place of our choosing." Iranian officials quoted a senior commander who ordered the strikes as saying "responding to US actions is a legitimate right."
Trump said in a statement Friday morning that Iran had fired four drones at commercial vessels in the strait a day earlier, three of which were neutralized by the US military. While the Iranian administration did not directly claim responsibility for the attack, warnings were issued through various channels that ships not coordinating with Iranian authorities for passage through the strait could not guarantee their safety.
According to CENTCOM, the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely, which came under attack, was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of the incident. The ship was struck approximately 7.5 nautical miles off the Omani coast. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a statement on Thursday that the attack damaged the ship's bridge but caused no crew injuries. Warnings were issued immediately after the attack for commercial vessels in the area to exercise caution.
This incident was the first reported attack on the waterway after the US and Iran agreed to a 60-day extension of the ceasefire by taking mutual steps to ease naval blockades. Despite the extended ceasefire requiring the sides to take mutual confidence-building measures, tensions escalated. The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic chokepoint through which about one-fifth of global oil shipments pass, causing the attack to raise concerns in international markets.
The drone attack on the ship came shortly after Oman, in cooperation with the United Nations maritime agency, announced the opening of a new sea route to assist ships stranded in the Persian Gulf. The UN agency had launched a mission just two days before the attack to provide safe passage guidance through the Strait of Hormuz for over 11,000 ships trapped in the region due to the conflict, but was forced to suspend and reassess the mission.
In response to Oman's move, the IRGC reiterated that the safety of ships not coordinating their transit with Iranian authorities could not be guaranteed. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Garibabadi said on platform X on Friday, "The safety of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz under ambiguous regulations, parallel routes or decision-making processes that ignore Iran's assessments as a coastal state cannot be guaranteed."
A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity sought to downplay Friday's strikes, saying they did not mean the conflict had resumed. CENTCOM stated, "Our forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait. The US military maintains its presence and vigilance to ensure compliance, adherence and full implementation of all aspects of the agreement reached with Iran."
