• The US military says it launched “powerful” strikes on Iran in response to an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, as explosions were reported in southern Iran’s Sirik.
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said the attack “violated” US commitments while noting the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) gave Tehran control over traffic in the strait.
• US President Donald Trump had earlier said that the Iranian drone attack on the Ever Lovely cargo ship was “a foolish violation” of the deal.
• Israel and Lebanon have signed a “framework agreement”, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as a “first step” in negotiations, after talks in Washington, DC.
• Israeli forces have killed several people in attacks on the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon.

US calibrated military response to preserve ‘space for diplomacy’

The focus of the US retaliation was Iranian missile and drone storage locations as well as coastal radar sites.

What can be said is that the United States is seeing the Iranian attacks on Thursday that occurred against four commercial vessels as serious, as a red line. In other words, freedom of navigation is something that the US says cannot be interrupted in any sort of way.

Given the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is such a major chokepoint when it comes to energy in the world, the US is intent on making sure that it remains open, while also making sure that there’s still space for diplomacy.

What’s really important to note in all of this is CENTCOM says the US targeted sites inside of Iran, but what it didn’t do is target Iranian military structures beyond that. The fact that the US was responding to an Iranian attack on commercial ships and not a US warship is something that the US has taken into consideration, and it calibrated its response.

The targets seem to matter … though the US president, speaking earlier, called [the Iranian attacks] a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire and also of the MoU, which the US hopes to preserve.

Qatari LNG tanker latest to reverse course near Hormuz: Kpler

The ship-tracking firm Kpler says the QatarEnergy-chartered Umm Slal liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is the latest to reverse course near the Strait of Hormuz in recent days.

It says the Gaslog Shanghai reversed course in the area on Thursday.

Kpler’s report came out before explosions were reported in Iran’s southern Sirik area.

“The incidents add fresh uncertainty to LNG shipping through the Gulf, despite recent signs that traffic was beginning to recover and regional exports were continuing,” it added.

What are the US and Iran saying about the latest strikes

• CENTCOM says it launched a “powerful” attack on Iranian “missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites” in response to what it described as an Iranian drone strike on a tanker in the Gulf.
• US Vice President JD Vance writes on X: “Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone,” adding, “Violence will be met with violence.”
• Iran’s IRGC condemns the US strikes, saying Washington has “as always, violated its commitments”, and that Iran’s navy has targeted locations in the region where US forces are deployed. “If the aggression is repeated, our response will be more extensive,” it added.
• Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, says on X that US President Donald Trump “has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire” while slamming the US strikes as a “reckless violation of the ceasefire”.

Iran sees Strait of Hormuz as ‘biggest leverage’ in negotiations with US

For the Iranians, it’s a strategic decision to assert control and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Because, for Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz is the ultimate deterrence and also the biggest leverage that Tehran has on the negotiating table.

Giving up on that means Iran giving up on its pressure, and that’s why Tehran – whether it’s politicians, officials, or the military officers from the IRGC – is saying they are ready to fight to preserve their control over the Strait of Hormuz.

They believe the war has changed the strategic environment: There’s a new reality, and they will fight to preserve this new reality.

US, Iran disagree on Hormuz communications channel

JD Vance said that to somehow tackle the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a line of communication has been established between the United States and Iran.

But the IRGC today has said that there is no such communication line; it is not established, and will not be.

So now that the parties are engaged militarily, mainly the question is how to defuse these tensions – particularly as the IRGC is warning that if this kind of action is repeated, its response is going to be harsher and wider.

And of course, the bigger concern is that if the IRGC keeps stopping vessels and Americans keep attacking Iranian military sites, whether this will eventually undermine the memorandum of understanding and ongoing negotiations.

UN calls for ‘sustained reopening’ of Strait of Hormuz

Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said that the UN hopes to see a “sustained” opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think it’s important that everybody live up to what they’ve committed to in every agreement that is signed,” Dujarric told reporters in New York.

“And I think it is important that all parties involved keep their eyes on the greater good,” he added, including regional and global stability as well as the wellbeing of seafarers.

“Thousands and thousands of men and women … have been stuck on ships, who we all rely on to get the goods that we consume every day.”

US military posts video apparently showing attack on Iran

CENTCOM has shared a grainy, black-and-white video in a social media post linked to its earlier post claiming the attack on Iran.

The video – marked with the word “unclassified” – appears to show explosions and smoke rising, but no discernible target.

As we’ve been reporting, the US military said it targeted “Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites”.

"...grainy, black-and-white video..."

This is normally the Israeli tradition to prevent viewers from identifying, tracing regarding the location and whether the content in the video matches the claim added to the video.

About the drone attack on the Ever Lovely ship

• Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine said that its cargo ship the Ever Lovely was hit by an unknown object off Oman on Thursday.
• The British navy agency UKMTO said the incident occurred just after 6pm local time [14:10 GMT].
• The projectile hit the starboard side of the ship’s bridge, about 3.6 nautical miles off Oman’s Khawr Naiwah, the company said in a statement.
• After an initial inspection by the crew, damage was found around the bridge windows. But the crew, vessel and cargo were all reported safe, the statement added.
• Evergreen also said its ship was following the route recommended by UKMTO while passing through the strait.
• The Ever Lovely had been stranded in the Gulf for more than 100 days after loading cargo in Iraq.
• US President Trump later said a drone hit a “large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship”, describing the attack in a Truth Social post as a “foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement”.
• Iranian official Ebrahim Azizi responded to Trump’s social media post, saying Iran governs the strait and that ships should “respect the rules” and “use secure routes”.
• The UN said that around 115 vessels, with about 2,500 sailors on board, safely left the strait in the three-and-a-half days after it was opened.

US and Iran ‘should use diplomatic channels, not bombs’

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a nonprofit lobbying group in the US, says it is “dismayed and concerned” by the attack on the vessel in Hormuz and the US military’s response of strikes on Iran.

“The US and Iran have started a diplomatic process and should use diplomatic channels to raise disputes, not bombs,” NIAC wrote on social media.

“We urge all parties to utilize the executive mechanism envisioned in the memorandum to monitor implementation of the MoU. Any fraying of the accord risks unraveling the whole deal, returning the US and Iran to war.”

About the seafarers still stuck in the Strait of Hormuz

The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has said 2,500 sailors were evacuated from the Strait of Hormuz during the three-and-a-half days it was open this week.

• The IMO had estimated there were 11,000 sailors stranded in the strait, while the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said in early June that the number was closer to 20,000.
• The ITF said at the time that the workers are “overwhelmingly from the Global South” and, in some cases, they are on board ships that are “running low on fuel, water and food”.
• IMO chief Arsenio Dominguez said on Friday that two transit routes were discussed in the US-Iran MoU: one through the north, operated by Iran, and one to the south “with the assistance of Oman and the United States”.
• The reported presence of sea mines means that the historic route, coordinated by the IMO since 1968, can’t currently be used, Dominguez added.
• Dominguez also said that while the IMO was helping to get ships out of the strait, “seafarers feel forgotten, particularly for the global media and from everyone around the world”.

Latest US strikes will lead to ‘retreat and regret’: Iranian MP

A senior Iranian MP says US strikes on Iran during the talks exposed Washington’s lack of commitment to diplomacy and ceasefire understandings.

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said on X that the US “once again attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations”.

“The failed US president has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire,” said Azizi.

He said the “reckless violation” of the ceasefire would, “as always, lead to retreat and regret” for the US. “The blame game does not work anymore,” he added.

His remarks came hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces targeted US military positions across the region in response to American strikes on the country’s south.

No damage caused by US attack at Sirik port, say Iranian media

Iran’s Mehr news agency cites the head of ports at eastern Hormozgan as saying no damage has been caused to the port of Sirik after the US renewed its attacks against Iran, in response to an incident a day earlier when a cargo vessel was struck by an Iranian drone.

The semi-official news outlet said the port was operating normally and no damage was caused to its equipment, despite explosions being reported earlier on its premises.

Pakistani PM Sharif stresses need for freedom of navigation

Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the importance of the freedom of navigation during an address at the Pakistan Naval Academy this morning.

“The evolving regional situation has highlighted more than anything else the importance of maritime security for the global economy and international supply chains,” he said.

“Today, the right of free passage and freedom of navigation are no longer luxuries but have become an absolute necessity for the entire world.”

Pakistan’s Navy, he added, was a force “not only capable of ensuring our national defence but also as acting as a stabilising force in the vital maritime region”.

Iran FM thanks Pakistan for facilitating transfer of Iranian crew members

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has thanked Pakistan for facilitating the repatriation of Iranian crew members on board a vessel seized by the US during its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, following reports that 22 crew members on the Lenore/Davina were transferred to the Pakistani city of Karachi.

In a phone call with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Araghchi thanked Islamabad for its diplomatic role and continued support in advancing the peace process with the US, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on X.

Iran condemns US attacks on its southern coast

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the US attacks on several locations along Iran’s southern coastline, accusing Washington of violating the UN Charter and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ending the war.

The ministry said the attacks hit coastal surveillance facilities and reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defense, stating that its armed forces carried out retaliatory attacks on US-related targets.

Iran also called on the Gulf states to prevent their territory from being used for hostile actions and urged the UN and international bodies to address what it described as breaches of international law.

Iran says it struck US-linked targets in response to US attacks

The country’s Foreign Ministry says its military struck targets linked to US forces in response to air strikes on its southern coast.

The statement said the US strikes violated the UN Charter and the war-ending memorandum between the two countries.

Iran did not identify the targets or say where they were located.

Iran and US trade blame for attacks, threatening fragile ceasefire

Iran and the US have traded attacks in the Gulf, raising fears that the fragile ceasefire between the two countries is unravelling.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday they had hit US sites in the Gulf in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian missile, drone and radar facilities – themselves a response to what Washington said was an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest US attacks, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, were a response to “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” that “clearly violated the ceasefire”.

Passage through Strait of Hormuz disputed as tensions remain high

After tit-for-tat strikes with the US, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement saying that Washington had breached its commitments and obligations by attacking the coast of Iran, and that in response they had targeted deployment sites of the US military in the region – so we’re not talking about one site, but “sites”, so it’s plural.

The IRGC referred to Article 5 of the MoU, which says that transit through the Strait of Hormuz is to be coordinated with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranians are saying that under this article, any ship passing through has to coordinate with Iran whether it does so through Iran’s territorial water or Oman’s, but that is being disputed.

The recent escalation is the main threat to the ongoing negotiations, as we have seen the IRGC say that they will respond if these attacks occur again, and that the response is going to be broader and harsher.

The reason why Iranians are insisting on this is because the Strait of Hormuz is the biggest leverage that Iranians have. They believe that if they lose that pressure tool, their hand is going to be significantly weakened at the negotiating table.

Article 5 of the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishes temporary maritime transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz.

Read the full Memorandum of Understanding

US, Iran trying to claim victory after new attacks

An Iranian academic says “both sides are trying to claim victory” after Iran warned the US strikes targeting several sites on its southern coast violated the MoU aimed at ending the war.

Mohammad Eslami, a research fellow in Middle East and North Africa Studies at the University of Tehran, says Iran and the US “had no choice but to come up with vague attacks in order to have a kind of diplomatic settlement”.

Iran says its armed forces carried out defensive strikes against targets linked to US forces.

Additionally, Iran warned countries on the southern shore of the Gulf against allowing their territory to be used for attacks on Iran.

Eslami says negotiators from the US and Iran are working out the details of a memorandum to bring the war to an end.

He says the “Iranians cannot and will not accept the Strait of Hormuz as an international waterway and they are going to push all other countries to accept the new framework”.

Iran has stressed that under new guidelines, freight passing through the Strait of Hormuz will have to pay for the secure passage of goods.

Iran, US trying to ‘demonstrate control’ over Hormuz

Andrea Dessi of the American University of Rome believes the recent escalation shows that “the MoU is extremely delicate and has the possibility of collapsing at any moment.

“Clearly, it is in the interest of both sides, Iran and the United States, not to let this escalate into a further all-out conflict,” he said.

Dessi believes there is “a new normal of something that we will be seeing repeatedly, especially over the next 30 or 60 days” while the sides try to negotiate.

“Both sides have a specific interest in demonstrating that their ability to control or command the strait is in their hands,” the analyst said.

“Therefore, this is setting up something of a tension and a potential clash, which could spiral out of control at any moment.”

Bahrain says Iran launched drone attack on its territory

Bahrain’s foreign ministry has issues a statement saying it strongly condemns an Iranian drone attack in the early morning hours, describing it as a serious violation of sovereignty and international law.

It said several drones targeted its territory, without specifying the exact location or the nature of the target. The incident endangered civilians and undermined regional de-escalation efforts, the statement added.

UKMTO says vessel struck by ‘unidentified projectile’ in Hormuz

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says a ⁠tanker has been struck ⁠⁠in the Strait of Hormuz.

The captain of a tanker said the vessel was struck by “an unidentified projectile”, the UKMTO said.

It added that the vessel sustained damage to the bridge, all crew members are reported safe, and no environmental damage has been reported at present.

Authorities are investigating the incident, the UKMTO said.

Iran says cargo clearance from UAE port resumes

Tehran says cargo clearance has resumed after the US carried out attacks on Iran, following a drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to the IRNA news agency.

An Iranian trade official says containers that could not be processed due to “wartime conditions” are now being cleared from the UAE’s Jebel Ali Port to Iran, adding that trade is expected to return to pre-war levels gradually.

The UAE port of Jebel Ali is a major regional transit hub for Iranian goods. Trade between the UAE and Iran has been affected by regional tensions and Western sanctions regimes imposed on Iran.

Sea route near Oman expanding to facilitate traffic, US Navy says

A maritime body overseen by the US Navy says a route through the Strait of Hormuz near Oman’s shores is expanding to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic.

The announcement by the Joint Maritime Information Center comes as the US pushes to reopen the strait.

Iran has insisted ships must obey its orders and is warning it will start charging fees for transit through the strait, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas once passed.

The US and Gulf Arab states have rejected Iran’s demands. The strait is considered around the world as an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.

Netanyahu’s political career under threat over his Iran war

Upcoming elections in Israel will likely decide the legacy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces mounting pressure over his handling of wars in the region and corruption charges.

In the background is a torrent of political events, after Netanyahu reportedly persuaded US President Donald Trump to join him in a war on Iran on February 28, causing Tehran to launch its own attacks on Israel, the Gulf states and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is regarded as the ultimate survivor in Israeli politics. But with the upcoming general election, slated for October, he is now confronted with his biggest challenge yet that could see his nearly four-decade political career come to an acrimonious end.

 

GCC head condemns ‘treacherous’ Iranian attacks on Bahrain

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi says he “condemns in the strongest terms the treacherous Iranian attacks” on Bahrain, after reports that drones had targeted its territory.

Albudaiwi condemned the attacks in a statement on X, saying the Iranians targeted “civilian infrastructure and properties”.

Qatar condemns Iranian drone attacks on Bahrain

The Qatari foreign ministry says it “strongly condemns” the Iranian attacks on Bahrain, and “emphasises the necessity of sparing the region the consequences of these unjustified attacks”.

It called for “continuing on the path of dialogue and diplomacy, de-escalation, and building on the gains achieved within the framework of the memorandum of understanding, in a manner that contributes to consolidating security and stability at both the regional and international levels”.

UAE condemns alleged Iranian drone attacks on Bahrain

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement, saying it has “condemned in the strongest terms” the attacks against Bahrain, after reports that drones were launched from Iran.

In a statement, the ministry said the attacks constitute a “flagrant violation” of Bahrain’s sovereignty and “a threat to its security and stability”.

Iran accuses US of violating multiple parts of MoU

There are two important Iranian statements regarding the recent US attacks.

The first is from the IRGC, which is in effect a warning. The IRGC says the United States, by attacking Iran, has violated Article 5 of the memorandum of understanding, which concerns the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

It also says that any passage through the strait must be carried out in full coordination with the Iranian authorities.

The second statement is from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is primarily a condemnation of the attacks. The ministry focuses on Article 1 of the memorandum, saying that the US strikes violated the agreement’s commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Now, both Iran and the US dispute the interpretation of the memorandum of understanding, with the Strait of Hormuz increasingly emerging as the main sticking point.