The US-Iran ceasefire grows more volatile on late Thursday after both sides reportedly fired shots at each other, with Iran accusing the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two of its ships, while the US insisted that the attack was done in self-defence, reports The Guardian.
According to the US military, it targeted sites responsible for attacking three US destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, in what it called “unprovoked” hostilities by Tehran.
Iran’s Press TV reported that after several hours of fire “the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now.”
The latest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington has put into question, the stability of the ceasefire, which is already hanging by a thread, though US President Donald Trump stressed that the ceasefire is very much intact, calling the US strikes as little more than a “love tap.”
“They trifled with us today,” Trump told reporters, during an evening visit to the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC. “We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle.” Asked where this left hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict, Trump said a deal “might not happen, but it could happen any day”.
“I believe they want the deal more than I do,” Trump claimed.
Releasing a statement late evening, CENTCOM said Iranian forces had “launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats” at the three destroyers, but that “no US assets were struck”, claiming that its forces had eliminated “inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities” responsible for targeting US forces, and attacking pivotal military targets, including missile and drone launch sites, command and control locations, along with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance nodes.
“CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,” it added.
Iran’s military accused the US of breaking the ceasefire agreement by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship entering the Strait of Hormuz, terming the US Armed Forces an “aggressive terrorist, and pirate” military.
The spokesperson added the US carried out airstrikes on “civilian areas” along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik and the island of Qeshm – home to about 150,000 people and a water desalination plant – and that the strikes were launched “with the cooperation of some regional countries”.
They stated that Iran’s armed forces responded by attacking US military vessels, “reportedly inflicting significant damage on them”.
The US has been increasingly aggressive in its bid to pressurise Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as Brent crude jumped to USD $101 per barrel, destroying six Iranian boats, along with various missiles and drones, after sending multiple warships to reinforce its armada as part of the newly launched ‘Project Freedom’.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump lauded the destroyer crews for transiting out of the Strait of Hormuz while under fire, and said that the US vessels sustained “no damage”, while describing the “Iranian attackers” as having been “completely destroyed along with numerous small boats” as well as missiles and drones.
Trump railed that the attack showed Iran was “not a normal country” and its “lunatic” leaders would not hesitate to use a nuclear weapon if they had one. Without swift diplomatic action, the US could respond “a lot more violently” in the future.
