U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of targeting ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz with drones , calling it a "foolish violation" of the ceasefire.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has launched at least four unidirectional attack drones on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one of which directly hit the upper deck of a large and expensive cargo ship, causing damage, but the ship was able to continue on its way. We also shot down three other drones."
The US president added that the attack was "a foolish violation of the ceasefire agreement", referring to the recent understandings reached between Washington and Tehran.
Trump said the attack was the first serious breach of the interim agreement that froze military operations and allowed the reopening of the sea lane, but stressed that Washington was still "negotiating from a position of absolute power," citing previous strikes that he said had inflicted heavy losses on Iran's military capabilities.
CNN accuses Trump of contradiction
U.S. and Iranian officials confirmed to the New York Times that Iran targeted a container ship trying to cross the strait via the southern route off the coast of Oman, hours after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships that safe navigation would only be available through Iranian waterways.
Trump's accusations come hours after he told reporters at the White House that the United States "has full control of the strait," and CNN commented on that contradiction, noting that the attack shows that Iran is still able to disrupt navigation in the vital waterway.
The attack came days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran that includes a commitment to reopen the strait for 60 days, with an official role for Iran in overseeing navigation.
Echoes of the attack can be heard in Hormuz
The repercussions of the incident quickly appeared in the Strait of Hormuz, where the International Maritime Organization (IMO) suspended the voluntary evacuation program for ships, and tracking data showed a sharp decline in navigation traffic hours after the attack, with a limited number of supertankers remaining in transit as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) had begun a voluntary evacuation operation days ago in which about 57 ships carrying about 1,100 seafarers participated.
In the UAE, sirens sounded in Dubai before the Ministry of Interior announced that it was caused by a technical malfunction in the early warning system, in an indication of the state of regional alert.
For now, Iran has remained silent as all eyes turn to whether the attack will re-ignite tensions in one of the world's most sensitive sea lanes, or whether the 60-day deal will withstand its first field test.
Comments (0)