US warplanes hit Iranian military sites after Tehran strikes a Singapore-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump says truce broken
US warplanes struck Iranian missile and drone depots and coastal radar sites on Friday, retaliating for a drone attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz that President Trump called a 'reckless violation' of a fragile ceasefire.
Attack on the Ever Lovely
On June 25, an Iranian one-way attack drone struck the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely about 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Port Dahit, Oman, according to UKMTO. The vessel, owned by Evergreen, was on the route recommended by UKMTO at the time. The drone hit the upper deck, causing damage, but the crew, ship and cargo were safe, and the vessel was able to continue its journey. US President Donald Trump said American forces shot down three other drones targeting the same vessel.
Obviously this is a reckless violation of our Ceasefire Agreement. We shot down three other drones. One hit the upper deck of a very expensive cargo ship.
US retaliatory strikes
In response, US Central Command conducted airstrikes on Friday against Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions. Centcom described the action as "a strong response" to the previous day's drone attack.
Unprovoked aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the truce. Iran's dangerous behavior undermines freedom of navigation.
Iranian stance and escalation
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accused the United States of attacking Iran's coast under false pretexts and claimed its naval forces retaliated by striking US military positions in the region, without providing details. The IRGC warned that if aggression is repeated, the response will be "more extensive." Earlier, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stated that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed without recognizing Iran's role as a coastal state, and Iranian state TV reported three foreign tankers were turned back after IRGC warnings.
Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed based on ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decisions that disregard Iran's role as a coastal state.
International response and evacuation halt
The International Maritime Organization suspended a planned evacuation of over 11,000 sailors stranded in the region to ensure navigational safety. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, stressing the importance of full compliance with the provisional truce. The fragile ceasefire, signed a week earlier after a nearly four-month conflict, faced further strain when a missile alert was triggered in the UAE due to a technical fault.
Oil markets and regional financial stress
Oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday, with Brent crude at $73.85 per barrel, having earlier spiked to $76 after the attack. Asian markets suffered heavy losses: Seoul's Kospi dropped 5.8%, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell over 4%, and chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics slid 8.4% and 5.3% respectively, partly driven by Apple's price increases on memory-intensive devices. The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and LNG supplies normally transit, saw 70 vessels crossing on Wednesday, double the previous day, before the attack disrupted the recovery.
- Iranian drone strikes Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely near Oman coast; crew and ship safe, US shoots down three other drones.
- President Trump calls attack a 'reckless violation' of truce; US Central Command conducts airstrikes on Iranian missile and drone depots and coastal radar.
- IMO suspends planned evacuation of over 11,000 stranded sailors for safety reasons.
- IRGC claims it retaliated against US positions and warns of larger response if aggression repeated.
- Brent crude falls over 3% to $73.85; Asian stock markets tumble, with Seoul's Kospi down 5.8%.
