US, Iran trade fire, testing peace deal

Iran yesterday accused the United States of violating the peace deal aimed at ending the Middle East war after Washington launched strikes on Iranian territory and Tehran retaliated by targeting US sites in the Gulf.

The exchange of fire, which followed Washington’s accusation that Tehran attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, cast fresh doubt on efforts to keep the vital waterway open while both sides negotiate a broader, permanent settlement.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its strikes on 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”.

Iran condemned the attacks after its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) launched retaliatory strikes.

“These brutal attacks, which targeted Iranian coastal surveillance facilities, are a blatant violation” of the memorandum of understanding ending the war, the foreign ministry said.

The IRGC said it had struck US sites in the Gulf in retaliation and warned that “if the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this”, according to a Telegram post carried by state television.

Bahrain said several Iranian drones targeted the country early yesterday, condemning the incident and accusing Tehran of “sabotaging peace efforts”.

Iranian state television, citing a reporter in the southern city of Sirik, said an explosion was heard at a pier late Friday. A military source said a projectile impact caused the blast, while Mehr news agency later reported that Sirik Port remained operational and suffered no damage.

CENTCOM described its operation as “a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

Meanwhile, another oil tanker in Hormuz was damaged by an “unidentified projectile”, Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO said.

“The vessel sustained damage to its bridge; all crew are reported safe,” UKMTO said. British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged tanker KIKU.

On Thursday, the IRGC said Oman and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had announced a new shipping corridor in the Strait of Hormuz near Omani waters without consulting Tehran, warning vessels not to use it.

Despite the warning, tracking platforms showed at least 17 of the 42 vessels that transited Hormuz on Thursday used the non-Iranian-approved route.

Earlier yesterday, US President Donald Trump denounced what he described as an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship, calling it “a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement”.

Vice President JD Vance warned on X that “violence will be met with violence” if Iran launched further attacks.

Despite the latest flare-up, oil prices fell sharply on hopes that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports — would continue recovering.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike on suspected militants in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, the first such strike since Washington announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

An Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP the strike targeted “suspected terrorists who posed a threat to IDF soldiers”.

Israel and Lebanon on Friday welcomed the US-brokered agreement intended to pave the way for peace on their front, although Iran-backed Hezbollah rejected it, saying it would undermine efforts to resolve the wider conflict.

The framework includes a pilot plan under which Lebanese troops would take control of two areas occupied by Israel and a process aimed at disarming Hezbollah following five rounds of talks in Washington.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the deal as a victory over Iran, saying Israeli forces would remain in a security zone until Hezbollah was disarmed. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the unpublished framework as a “first step” towards allowing civilians to return home under state authority.

Hezbollah supporters protested in Beirut late Friday, while leader Naim Qassem yesterday declared the agreement “null and void”, calling it a major mistake by Beirut.

Separately, the UN nuclear watchdog warned that any final US-Iran settlement would require robust safeguards to ensure Tehran does not develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran’s nuclear programme remains a major sticking point, with Tehran and Washington giving conflicting accounts of whether international inspectors will regain access to Iranian facilities.

“The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Friday. “But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place… as soon as is practicable.”

The interim agreement says Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium should be downblended under IAEA supervision.