US strikes Iran as fragile ceasefire comes under strain

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could return to its status quo ante, said his spokesperson.

Asked at a daily briefing on Friday (local time) where Guterres hopes that the Strait of Hormuz will return to how it was before the US-Israel conflict against Iran began, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson, said: "I think we have to remain determined.

The Strait of Hormuz, prior to the opening of this conflict, actually worked, right? So we know it can, and we should go back to that."

Dujarric said the United Nations welcomed the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, which covers the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, noting that it is important that all sides honour their commitments, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are keen to see a sustained reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, based on the concept of freedom of navigation," said Dujarric.

"It is important that all parties involved keep their eyes on the greater good - the greater good of regional stability, the greater good of global stability."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that they had attacked US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran, according to state television.

The US military had earlier announced that it had struck targets in Iran in response to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, which it attributed to Tehran.

"If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this," the Guards said, according to a post by state TV on Telegram.

Ebrahim Azizi, Member of Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, meanwhile said that the US does not commit to ceasefire and the blame game does not work anymore.

In a post on X, he said, “ The US attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again. The failed US President has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire. This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part. The blame game does not work anymore.”

Ibrahim Al Fiqar, Official military Spokesperson for Iran's Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, the operational command center that coordinates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the regular Iranian army, said that Iran's response ‘to the US attack’ this time will be unprecedented.

Al Fiqar said that Iran will choose the appropriate time and place to answer back.

In a series of posts on X, he said, "We affirm that this aggression will not go unanswered, and we will choose the appropriate time and place. We warn that any further act of folly will be met with a harsh response that will shatter the illusions of the aggressors in the region. No retreat... Our response will shake the earth to its core, and will erase your military presence as if it never existed. When the three numbers match tonight, the flow will cease and the silence will become a storm. There will be nothing to say, only what will be seen. No summons and no options.. This is an unprecedented night, in which gunpowder will write the final line in your illusions. The response to the US attack will be swift and decisive."

He stated further, "Your audacity was what started the equation, and our platforms will complete it tonight... on a night unprecedented in its magnitude. All eyes are turned to the sky... Tonight is unprecedented, and the fire will paint the new stage. Our response this time will be unprecedented."

US Vice President JD Vance on Friday warned Iran it will face "violence" if it carries out any further attacks after the US military said it had responded to an Iranian strike against a cargo ship.

"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," Vance posted on X, referring to the memorandum of understanding meant to stop nearly four months of conflict.

The US struck Iran in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. It's the most significant test yet to an interim understanding reached a week ago by the two countries to begin working to end their months-long war and reopen the pivotal waterway.

US President Donald Trump said the drone attack violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters, "You'll find out," whether the US would respond.

US Central Command said the military struck missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites in Iran.

"I don't like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them," Trump said at the White House shortly before the US struck back. When asked why there would be strikes when Trump has insisted talks with Tehran are going well, Trump said of Iran: "They're a little bit different."

He then abruptly cut off questions and reporters were ushered out of his office.

US forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions Friday after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jolting a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggled to contain the Middle East war.

US Central Command said the strikes were a response to "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces" that "clearly violated the ceasefire."

It described the operation as "a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city.

It quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area.

US President Donald Trump had earlier denounced what he described as an Iranian drone strike on the vessel, saying: "Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement."

The exchange raised fresh questions about efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Iran has warned vessels not to enter or leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz without permission, but ships have continued to move, some using a route not authorized by Tehran.

Around half of the 42 vessels that made the passage on Thursday used a non-approved southern route along the coast of Oman, according to the Kpler tracking platform.

The UN maritime agency said an evacuation operation had freed 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers trapped by the dispute before the attack forced its suspension.

Oil prices nevertheless fell sharply, reflecting hopes that traffic through the strategic strait - which normally sees around a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports - would keep recovering despite the latest flare-up.

Lebanon framework

Israel and Lebanon hailed an agreement signed with the United States to pave a way towards peace on their front in the war, although Iran-backed Hezbollah warned the deal would thwart plans to resolve the broader conflict.

At a signing ceremony in Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, flanked by Israeli and Lebanese envoys, said the trilateral accord "begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security."

"It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the framework as a victory against Iran, which argues that the Lebanon front is inseparable from the wider war and should be resolved as part of Tehran's talks with Washington.

"Iran has been trying to force us to withdraw from southern Lebanon through pressure but, in effect, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them: this is none of your business," Netanyahu said.

"You have no role in Lebanon - not you, not Hezbollah and not any terrorist organization."

Netanyahu said the agreement would allow the Lebanese army to return to two "pilot areas" in southern Lebanon, but that Israeli forces would remain in their security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed. Displaced civilians will be prevented from returning.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the unpublished framework as a "first step" toward civilians returning home "under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state."

"There will be no more occupation, prisoners, subordination or tutelage," he said.

But Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the Washington signing sought to undercut the US-Iran ceasefire, which he said envisioned Lebanon being settled through the wider peace process.

The Lebanese government, he warned, would be unable to impose the agreement "unless they go, with American support, to civil war."

Nuclear safeguards

The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, meanwhile, warned that any final US-Iran settlement would need strong safeguards to ensure Tehran does not build a nuclear weapon.

Iran's nuclear program remains a central sticking point in the talks, with Tehran and Washington giving conflicting accounts of whether UN 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 (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said of developing nuclear weapons.

"But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place... as soon as is practicable," he added, warning that the agency had so far "barely initiated" talks with Iran.

The interim agreement says Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium - estimated before the war at 440 kilograms, or 970 pounds, enriched to 60 percent - should be "downblended" under IAEA supervision.

Day 119: Lebanon, Israel, US sign trilateral deal in Washington

Day 118: Oil price spikes after IRGC strike on ship in Hormuz

Day 117: Iran-Gulf reconciliation talks expected in Saudi Arabia

Day 116: Rubio lands in UAE on first leg of Gulf tour

Day 115: Iran will agree to allow weapons inspection: Vance