Archive photo. (Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP)
Washington and Tehran accuse each other of breaking the temporary ceasefire after the US military carried out strikes on Iranian targets.
The latest American attacks come after Washington first accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week – this in the midst of the temporary ceasefire.
The American Central Command (Centcom) says the latest attacks by the US on, among other things, Iranian missile and drone storage sites were in response to an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship.
“The unjustified aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces has clearly violated the ceasefire.”
However, Tehran maintains the cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked because it used an unauthorized route to move through the important strait.
Archive photo of the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo: SAHAR AL ATTAR / AFP)
‘Foolish violation’
Pres. Donald Trump earlier condemned what he described as an Iranian drone attack on the ship, saying “it’s obviously a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement”.
Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, issued a direct warning to X, saying that “violence will be met with violence” if Iran carries out any further attacks.
However, it appears that Iran has already carried out further attacks, as shortly afterwards Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation for the US strikes.
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.
But violence will be met with violence. https://t.co/VWnBS1PWaV
— JD Vance (@JDVance) June 26, 2026
“If the aggression is repeated, we will expand our response,” the Revolutionary Guards said.
Iran accuses the US of being the one to break the deal with the latest US attacks.
“These brutal attacks, which targeted Iranian coastal surveillance facilities, are a blatant violation of the memorandum of understanding to end the war,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The attacks are raising renewed questions about efforts to keep the vital strait open as the US and Iran negotiate a final settlement.
Strait of Hormus
Iran has warned ships not to enter or leave the Gulf through the strait without permission.
Nevertheless, numerous ships continue to pass through the strait, some by way of a route not authorized by Tehran.
Oil prices fell sharply on Saturday despite the latest attacks on hopes that shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a strategic waterway that normally provides passage for around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports – will continue to normalize.
Archive photo of the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo: Ho Sepahnews/AFP)