An F-35B Lighting II assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 takes off from the flight deck of the American-class amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA 7) on May 13, 2026.
Provided by: U.S. Navy
The U.S. military attacked Iran on Friday after President Donald Trump accused the Islamic Republic of launching a drone attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and a “stupid violation” of a ceasefire agreement.
Iran’s military later announced it had retaliated for the attack.
U.S. Central Command said the planes “struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar sites.”
A one-way attack drone launched by Iran on Thursday attacked the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely in the strait off the coast of Oman, the Central Command announced in a post on X. The ship continued to transit the strait, which is a major oil transport artery.
President Trump said the U.S. military had “downed” three other attack drones that targeted ships in the Strait.
“The Iranian military’s unwarranted attack on a commercial vessel is a clear violation of the ceasefire,” the Central Command said.
“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous actions have undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through important international trade corridors,” Central Command said.
Iran said it had retaliated against the US attack.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) navy has targeted multiple US military positions in the region and warned that future attacks would prompt a ‘wider response,'” Iranian state media said, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Iran’s statement did not say which regional neighbors it would target.
But Bahrain condemned Iran’s drone attack early Saturday, calling it “a blatant violation of its sovereignty, a flagrant threat to the security of its citizens and residents, and a clear violation of international norms and treaties prohibiting targeting civilian objects and terrorizing innocent people.”
Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations Center said on Saturday that a tanker sailing through the Strait of Hormuz had been hit by an “unidentified projectile”. The ship sustained damage to its bridge, but all crew members were reported to be safe, UKMTO said.
The new attacks come more than a week after President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at creating a permanent peace deal to end the war between the two countries.
Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Switzerland over the weekend to discuss the deal with Iran.
“Iran signed a cease-fire agreement and we abided by it,” Vance wrote in a post on X on Friday.
“If there is a disagreement about how the MOU should be applied, you can pick up the phone,” Vance wrote. “But violence will be met with violence.
Just before Central Command announced retaliatory strikes on Friday, President Trump was asked by a reporter at the White House whether there would be any consequences for Iran for violating the ceasefire.
“We’ll see,” the president replied.
In response to the US attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement: “Following the violation of the ceasefire by the Zionist regime in southern Lebanon a few hours ago, the treaty-violating US regime, in its usual reneging on its commitments, attacked the coast of the Islamic Republic of Iran with airstrikes under various pretexts on the grounds that the violative vessels had passed through the unauthorized passage in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“The Revolutionary Guards Navy responded to this invasion by attacking the positions of the US terrorist forces in the region,” the Revolutionary Guards said.
“According to Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum, the arrangements governing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz are in place with the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, the United States has sought to violate this commitment by provoking various parties and the necessary responses have been and will continue to be the same.”
“In the event of repeated acts of aggression, our response will be broader than this,” the Revolutionary Guards said.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of Iran’s parliament’s National Security Committee, said in a post on X that “the United States has attacked Iran again in the midst of negotiations.”
“The failed US president has shown no commitment to the principles of negotiations or ceasefire,” Azizi said.
“This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to withdrawal and regret on their part. The blame game no longer works.”
– CNBC’s Azhar Sukri contributed to this article.
