In the conflict between Iran and the USA, tensions are rising again despite the recently reached agreement on a framework agreement. After new attacks by the US military on targets in Iran during the night, the Gulf state of Bahrain reported an attack with several Iranian drones early in the morning. The British merchant shipping safety authority UKMTO also announced that a cargo ship had been hit by an unknown missile. The exact background to this incident initially remained unclear.
Despite the framework agreement
The signing of the framework agreement between Tehran and Washington brought relief to the conflict that has kept the region in suspense since American-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28. The agreement came into force last week after laborious negotiations and provides, among other things, for a temporary end to hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is central to global oil trade.
For the first time since the framework agreement was signed, the US military reported attacks against Iran during the night. The aerial attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage facilities as well as coastal radar systems were carried out in response to the attack on a cargo ship on Thursday, the Centcom regional command responsible for the Middle East said late on Friday afternoon US Eastern Time.
Iran’s reaction
In response to the US attacks, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy (IRGC) attacked US targets in the region, said a statement from the Iranian elite unit. The information cannot be independently verified; confirmation from the US side was initially pending.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the US attacks on Saturday and spoke of a “blatant violation” of the framework agreement. US President Donald Trump had previously attributed the attack on the cargo ship to Iran and viewed it as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The framework agreement is considered the starting point for in-depth negotiations. These are initially scheduled to last 60 days and are intended to focus, among other things, on the controversial Iranian nuclear program. The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior US official as saying that the ceasefire remained in place despite the renewed attacks. The US attacks were solely in retaliation for the attack on the cargo ship, it said. Still, the latest attack raises questions about what the new tensions mean for further negotiations.
90 minutes
According to Iranian reports, noises of explosions were reported from the Iranian city of Sirik on Saturday night. This was reported by state television Irib, among others. The city in the Hormuzgan province is located on the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz and has repeatedly been the target of US attacks in the past. Projectile impacts were also reported from the island of Gheschm.
Several US media outlets, citing a US official, reported that six US Air Force fighter jets attacked four Iranian positions along the Strait of Hormuz and on the island of Gheshm. The attacks therefore lasted around 90 minutes.
The attack on the cargo ship
An attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz was reported on Thursday. According to the US military, Iran hit the Singapore-flagged merchant ship with a drone as it exited the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast.
The incident off the coast of Oman came hours after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that passage was only safe on routes set by Tehran.
In response to the attack on the ship, the World Maritime Organization (IMO) initially suspended its evacuation of stranded sailors. According to its own information, it was able to evacuate 2,500 sailors by the time its mission was interrupted in the Strait of Hormuz.
In the wake of the American-Israeli attacks on Iran, the Islamic Republic largely closed the important strait to shipping traffic at the beginning of March through threats and attacks. The USA subsequently responded with its own naval blockade of ships arriving at or leaving Iranian ports. As part of the framework agreement, both blockades have now been lifted.
