The situation in the Strait of Hormuz sharply escalated after the United States and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time since the signing of the ceasefire memorandum. Washington and Tehran have already blamed each other for undermining the peace agreements.

The trigger for the new round of escalation was an incident involving the Ever Lovely, a vessel sailing under the Singapore flag. On Friday evening, Iranian forces attacked it with a drone off the coast of Oman. According to available information, there were no casualties.

Iran said the vessel had attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran’s permission. The IRGC stressed that navigation through the strait is allowed only along the route determined by the Iranian side.

After that, U. S. Central Command struck Iranian facilities in the area of the strait. According to the American side, Iran’s missile and drone facilities, as well as coastal radar stations near Qeshm Island and the city of Sirik, came under attack.

The Pentagon said U.S. forces remain in the region and continue to monitor the implementation of all provisions of the agreement with Iran in order to ensure its compliance and legal force.

Tehran, in turn, reported that the American attack had been thwarted. The IRGC said that its naval forces carried out retaliatory strikes on U. S. Army deployment sites in the region. At the same time, Washington did not report any damage after Iran’s actions.

The Iranian side also referred to Clause 5 of the memorandum, according to which control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz is carried out jointly with Iran. Tehran claims that the United States attempted to violate these obligations through provocations and therefore received the necessary response. It warned that if the aggression is repeated, the response will be far more extensive.

Washington rejected Tehran’s position. U. S. Vice President JD Vance said that violence would be met with a retaliatory strike. According to him, Iran signed the memorandum and, if it had disagreements over its implementation, could have resolved the issue through direct contact rather than through force.

Donald Trump also accused Iran of violating the ceasefire. He said that the Iranian drone attack contradicted the agreements reached and called Tehran’s actions foolish.