The United States and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long truce. Tehran said US forces targeted two ships entering the Strait of Hormuz and struck Iranian territory, while Washington said its military action was in response to Iranian attacks. However, both insisted they were not seeking escalation.
Renewed hostilities erupted as Washington awaited Iran’s response to a U.S. proposal that would halt the fighting but leave the most contentious issues, such as Iran’s nuclear program, unresolved for now.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump brushed off Iran’s attacks on three US warships as a “little thing”, insisting the ceasefire remained intact and claiming US forces had “blown them away”. Here’s a look at who said what
What did Iran say?
Iran’s Supreme Joint Military Command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out airstrikes on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir and Sirik on the mainland. The military said it responded by attacking US military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.
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Iran’s Central Command spokesman Khatam al-Anbiya said the Iranian strikes caused “significant damage”, but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.
What did the US say?
Centcom said Iran used missiles, drones and small boats in the attack, which targeted three navy destroyers. The US said it targeted missile and drone sites and other locations in response.
“CENTCOM is not seeking escalation, but remains in position and ready to protect US forces,” he said in a statement.
Iran also said it would respond if attacked.
“(The US) and its allies must know that Iran will respond strongly and without the slightest hesitation to any act of aggression or attack,” a military spokesman was quoted as saying by state television.
What did Trump say?
Trump dismissed Thursday’s Iranian attacks on three U.S. warships as a “little thing,” saying he considered the ceasefire still active.
Asked during a visit to see the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool if the Iran ceasefire was still standing despite the attacks, Trump said: “Yes, it is. They played with us today. We blew them up. We played. I call it a little thing.”
Earlier, Trump said in a social media post that repeated parts of Central Command’s statement that three US destroyers had sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and had come under fire but suffered no damage, saying the Iranian attackers had been “completely destroyed” along with several small boats.
“These boats went to the bottom of the sea, quickly and efficiently,” he said. “Missiles were fired at our destroyers and were easily shot down. Drones also came and were incinerated in the air.”
Trump also urged Iran to accept a negotiated end to the war, saying, “If they don’t get a deal signed FAST, we will take them out much harder and much more violently in the future!”
Oil prices are rising again
The war has tested Trump’s relationship with his American base of supporters after he campaigned against the United States’ involvement in foreign wars and promised to lower fuel prices.
U.S. crude futures rose as much as 3% in early Asian trade on Friday after renewed hostilities broke out.
Read also | Trump dropped an explosive ultimatum: “The bombing begins” if Iran rejects the deal
U.S. gasoline prices have risen more than 40% since the end of February, rising about $1.20 a gallon to more than $4, according to data from the American Automobile Association, as disruptions to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz boosted oil prices.
Markets veered wildly over the course of the war as hopes for a peace deal rose and faded repeatedly.
(With input from agencies)
