U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets for a second consecutive day Saturday after Tehran launched another drone attack against a commercial tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting President Donald Trump to warn that Washington could ultimately “militarily complete the job” if the Islamic Republic continues violating last week’s ceasefire agreement.
Iran “was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said following the operation, adding that American aircraft struck Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air-defense sites, drone storage facilities, minelayer capabilities, missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites.
CENTCOM said the strikes were launched “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping” after Iran hit the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku with a one-way attack drone early Saturday as it transited near the Strait of Hormuz carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil.
Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker sustained damage to its bridge, with all crew reported safe.
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue,” CENTCOM said. “U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Trump confirmed the operation in a Truth Social post Saturday, saying U.S. aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites “for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!”
“It is very possible that they will never learn!” Trump wrote. “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. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
CENTCOM later released video from the operation showing U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft striking Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz, including military infrastructure in the Sirik area.
Saturday’s strikes followed the first U.S. retaliatory operation on Friday, which came after Iran launched one-way attack drones at commercial vessels transiting the strait.
Trump said Friday that Iran fired at least four one-way attack drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz, with one drone striking the upper deck of a large cargo ship and three others shot down by U.S. forces.
The vessel struck Thursday was the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely, which CENTCOM said was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast when it was hit by an Iranian one-way attack drone.
“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” Trump wrote Friday.
CENTCOM said after Friday’s strikes that Iran’s “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping” had “clearly violated the ceasefire” and undermined freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway.
Following Friday’s initial U.S. retaliation, Vice President JD Vance warned that Iran should use the diplomatic channels created under the memorandum of understanding rather than force.
“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it,” Vance wrote on X. “If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone.”
“But violence will be met with violence,” he added.
Senior Iranian MP Ebrahim Azizi, commenting after Friday’s initial U.S. strikes, accused the United States of attacking Iran “in the midst of negotiations.”
“The failed U.S. president has once again proven that he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation and ceasefire,” Azizi said, warning that what he called America’s “reckless violation” would lead to “retreat and regret.”
Saturday’s U.S. operation was followed by a new round of Iranian retaliation. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed its navy and aerospace forces launched joint missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the American strikes.
“Violating the ceasefire is contrary to Clause 1 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes,” the IRGC said, according to Iranian state media.
Kuwait’s military said its air defenses were engaging “hostile” missile and drone attacks and urged residents to follow safety instructions issued by authorities. In Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, air-raid sirens sounded after the latest U.S. strikes, with the Interior Ministry calling on residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place.
The latest round of strikes came as the Joint Maritime Information Center raised its maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz to “substantial” following repeated attacks on merchant vessels.
The renewed confrontation has placed the maritime provisions of last week’s memorandum under immediate pressure, with Washington insisting on free commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran asserting authority over routes and security guarantees in the strategic waterway.
The memorandum, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, was intended to halt military operations, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and begin broader negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, frozen assets, and regional security arrangements.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
Read the full article here
