US President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States carried out fresh military strikes on Iranian targets, claiming the action was taken after Iran violated the ceasefire agreement “again.”
In a
post on Truth Social, Trump said, “United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!”
He added, “It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started.”
Trump also issued a stark warning to Iran, saying, “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
According to the US military, the strikes were carried out at Trump’s direction.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American military aircraft targeted Iranian military infrastructure following an attack on a merchant vessel earlier on Saturday.
CENTCOM said the operation targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities.
It later specified that the strikes involved 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz.
The military said Iran had “a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement” but “elected not to” after its forces allegedly attacked the oil tanker Kiku with a one-way drone.
US LINKS STRIKES TO ATTACK ON OIL TANKER
According to CENTCOM, the Kiku was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil when it came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The tanker had departed from a Qatari oil field earlier in the week and was headed to a port in the United Arab Emirates located on the Gulf of Oman.
According to ship-tracking information cited by the Associated Press, the vessel appeared to be using a route near the coast of Oman that has emerged as an alternative to the route sanctioned by Iran through its own waters.
The US military said the strikes were a direct response to the drone attack on the vessel.
TENSIONS RISE DESPITE INTERIM CEASEFIRE DEAL
The latest exchange comes despite an interim agreement between the United States and Iran aimed at reaching a broader accord to end the conflict.
The latest strikes underscore the fragile nature of the ceasefire, with concerns that the conflict could once again spiral into a wider regional confrontation.
EXPLOSIONS REPORTED, BAHRAIN ALLEGES DRONE ATTACK
Iranian state television reported explosions in an area just north of the Strait of Hormuz following the US strikes.
Earlier on Saturday, Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said a “number of Iranian drones” had targeted the country, calling the incident “a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents.” There were no immediate reports of damage.
Meanwhile, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, said it had targeted several locations belonging to what it described as the “US terrorist army in the region,” but did not identify the locations.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre also reported that a tanker had come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. It said the crew was safe and that no environmental damage had been reported.
A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy announced that the shipping route near Oman’s coastline would be expanded to accommodate both inbound and outbound traffic, even as it warned that the threat to commercial vessels in the area remained substantial due to ongoing military activity and the presence of mines.
