US strikes Iran in response to ship attack

WASHINGTON — The United States struck Iran Friday in response to a drone attack the day before on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. It’s the most important test yet for an interim deal the two countries reached a week ago to begin working to end their months-long war and reopen the critical waterway.

US President Donald Trump said the drone attack violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters, “You will find out” whether the United States would respond.

U.S. Central Command said the military struck missile and drone sites as well as coastal radar sites in Iran.

“I don’t like the fact that they shot yesterday, actually four of them,” Trump said at the White House shortly before the United States retaliated. Asked why there would be strikes when Trump insisted negotiations with Tehran were going well, Trump said of Iran: “They’re a little different.”

He then abruptly stopped the questions and the journalists were kicked out of his office.

Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, responded to Trump on social media earlier Friday, saying: “The Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: respect the rules” and “don’t confuse control with escalation.”

“This is not a violation of the ceasefire; it is about ceasefire management,” Azizi wrote.

Vice President JD Vance said on social media Friday evening that Iran should “pick up the phone” if there is disagreement over the ceasefire agreement.

“But with violence will come violence,” Vance said.

Strikes end an hour later

U.S. strikes on Iran ended about an hour after U.S. Central Command announced the military action on social media, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation.

The British military said Thursday that a container ship was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman, hours after Iran threatened the ships to stop using the route. The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Center said no injuries had been reported.

The development came at a fragile time for the United States and Iran, as they struggle to negotiate a permanent end to the war. Iran is increasingly challenging the region and the United States over its control of the Strait of Hormuz, even with the interim agreement it reached with the United States last week.

The attack on the cargo ship came as a United Nations maritime agency began an operation this week to evacuate stranded ships out of the strait, using an alternative route, running along the coast of Oman rather than through the central part of the strait.

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The International Maritime Organization halted evacuations after the attack and said Friday they would not resume until there were guarantees that other ships would not be attacked.

About 115 ships have been able to leave the strait in recent days, leaving about 500 still in the area, said Arsenio Dominguez, the agency’s secretary general.

The opening of the alternative passage through the strait was supposed to ease pressure on the global economy and remove Iran’s main leverage in ongoing peace talks with the United States.

The United States and Iran are still negotiating the terms of the deal, including on issues such as the passage of ships through the key strait and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the interim agreement, both sides have 60 days to work out the details.

Attack on cargo ship a test for maritime transport

Shipping analysts said the drone strike cast a shadow over what was a growing flow of trapped ships that eventually left the Gulf and a growing flow of tankers carrying crude oil.

“A week of growing trade confidence in the Strait of Hormuz has reached its first significant test,” said maritime data firm Windward on

On Wednesday, before Thursday’s drone attack, 78 ships transited the strait, the highest number since the start of the war, although below prewar averages of 130 or more per day.

At least two tankers reversed course while trying to transit the strait on the UN-backed route near Oman after Iran insisted that ships only use routes approved by Tehran, according to maritime data and analytics firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

More than two dozen ships were still transiting the strait’s southern route after the attack, Lloyd’s said Friday.

Lebanon and Israel take a step towards peace

The ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon announced a deal Friday described as a step toward peace after months of conflict between Israeli troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Nada Hamadeh, Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States, called the framework an effort to “allow our people to return to their land and allow all Lebanese people to live in peace, security and prosperity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was a “great achievement” for Israel.

“The most important thing, above all, is that Israel remains in the security zone in southern Lebanon,” he said, adding that they will stay until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat to Israel.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Ben Finley, Michelle L. Price and Josh Boak in Washington, David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

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