US-Iran Ceasefire Deal on Brink of Collapse as Both Sides Launch Fresh Strikes
The newly signed US-Iran ceasefire deal threatened to collapse on Friday as both sides launched fresh strikes. The US military said it had attacked Tehran in response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides have accused the other of violating the peace deal, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards claiming on Saturday that it had retaliated by targeted US military positions in the region. Bahrain has accused Iran of launching several drones into its territory, calling the attack a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty and a threat to regional peace efforts. The alleged strike came hours after the United States and Iran exchanged military attacks, with both sides accusing each other of violating the recent ceasefire agreement. Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said the United States has violated the war-ending memorandum of understanding. He accused Washington of creating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and undermining the agreement reached between the two sides. Hezbollah chief said the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement is “null” and should be replaced by the Iran-US memorandum. He added that linking Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon to the group’s disarmament crosses “red lines.” The remarks come amid escalating regional tensions and ongoing discussions over ceasefire arrangements and military deployments in southern Lebanon. Iranian state television reported that more commercial vessels are seeking permits from Tehran to transit the Strait of Hormuz after warning shots were fired at ships attempting to pass without authorization. The report said the development follows recent incidents involving vessels in the strategic waterway amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States. Iranian state television reported that more commercial vessels are now seeking permits from Tehran before transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The report said the increase followed warning shots fired at ships that attempted to pass through the strategic waterway without authorization. An oil tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. The attack damaged the vessel's bridge, but all crew members are safe and no environmental damage has been reported so far. Iran launched a drone attack targeting Bahrain on Saturday, while a separate vessel came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions despite ongoing US-Iran negotiations. Bahrain condemned the strike, calling it "a flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents", while Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted positions of the "U.S. terrorist army in the region." Israeli drones carried out strikes in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA). Senior Iranian leader Mohsen Rezaei has called for an "insurance mechanism" to cover ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, saying it would reduce risks for vessels involved in incidents. He said the costs should be borne by oil transporters rather than the Iranian people, arguing that Iran provides security and environmental protection in the strategic waterway. His remarks come amid ongoing disagreements with the US over proposed fees and transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz as negotiations continue. An explosive drone targeted a camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group north of Iraq's Erbil, security sources told Reuters on Saturday. No casualties were reported as the camp had recently been evacuated. According to reports, Iran has warned countries along the southern shore of the Gulf region against allowing their territory to be used for hostile actions against the country. It also urged the UN and international bodies to address what it described as breaches of international law. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has issued a vehement condemnation of US attacks at several locations along the southern coastline of Iran. Tehran accused Washington of violating the UN Charter and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ending the war. The ministry said the attacks hit coastal surveillance facilities and reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defence. Iran captain Mehdi Taremi questioned whether his side were welcome at the World Cup, strongly criticising the conditions they are playing under in the United States after they drew 1-1 with Egypt on Friday to possibly secure a knockout spot. Taremi missed an early penalty and crashed a header off the crossbar, before an apparent late winner for Iran, which would have guaranteed progress out of the group stage at the seventh attempt, was ruled out for offside. The contest threatened to be overshadowed by geopolitics, with some fans waving pre-revolutionary Iranian flags and booing the national anthem – just hours after the United States launched strikes on Iran, with each country accusing the other of violating terms of a ceasefire agreed last week. Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement to end the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Both sides framed the deal as an initial step that calls for Hezbollah to disarm and Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, but it was not clear how it would be enforced. Hezbollah has said it would not cooperate and broached the possibility of a "civil war". Reports also noted that the word "withdrawal" was not mentioned in the agreement. Rather, it spoke about a conditional agreement to "redeploy out of the Lebanese territory" after non-state actors, such as Hezbollah, were disarmed. Times of Israel quoted Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leither as saying that the country would maintain its buffer zone in southern Lebanon until the Lebanese Armed Forces demonstrate that they can dismantle Hezbollah and assume responsibility for security. This came soon after the two countries signed a deal that included Israeli retreat from some Lebanese territories. Leiter stresses that the deal will not be based on a fixed timetable, but on measurable progress by the Lebanese army in disarming Hezbollah. The US Central Command has released a video showing the strike it launched against Iran on Friday night. Washington has said this was in retaliation for a ‘ceasefire violation’ in the Strait of Hormuz. https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/2070681703077622030 According to an Al Jazeera analysis, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1031 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year. More than 3,300 others have been injured. Tehran has said it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington after Thursday's attack on a cargo ship traveling near Oman's coast. The Revolutionary Guards said the ceasefire agreement gives Iran control over ship traffic in the Strait. "However, the United States, by provoking various fronts, sought to violate this commitment, and the necessary response was given and will continue to be given. If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this," the Revolutionary Guards added. According to the Mehr news agency, Iran had claimed on Saturday that no damage had been caused by the US attack on Sirik port, and that the situation was normal. The US said an aircraft struck missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites during its attack on Friday. Iran had also confirmed the strike --- noting that a projectile hit the area around a pier in Sirik in southern Iran. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah warned that the Washington signing was an attempt to undermine the ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran, which foresaw that the Lebanese conflict would be resolved as part of the ongoing peace negotiations. He claimed that the Lebanese government "will be unable to impose the implementation of the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war". UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher has hailed the newly signed agreement between Israel and Lebanon. He also said that the UN has “six asks” as Lebanon continues to face a “grave humanitarian crisis” amid months of Israeli military attacks. https://twitter.com/UNReliefChief/status/2070625818007511171 The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy announced on Saturday morning that it has targeted US military positions in the region. The IRNA News Agency quoted the IRGC as saying that this was retaliation for American airstrikes against Iranian coastal areas. Ibrahim al-Fiqar also wrote on X that Iran's response "to the US attack" this time will be unprecedented. He is the official military Spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters --- the operational command centre that coordinates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the regular Iranian army. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a US-mediated framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Friday night. The US State Department has reportedly shared the text of the framework deal --- outlining several key criteria to ensure "lasting peace and security”. The second point in the framework reportedly states that the governments of both Israel and Lebanon “commit to a reciprocal, sequential process” under which the Lebanese military “will restore effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory”. This is contingent upon “the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of associated infrastructure, enabling the [Israeli army] to progressively redeploy out of the Lebanese territory”. US President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the drone attack violated the ceasefire. Meanwhile, Iran insists that they were simply "managing" a region under their control. “The Strait of Hormuz is governed by Iran, so: Respect the rules...do not mistake control for escalation. This is not a violation of the ceasefire; it is ceasefire management,” Ebrahim Azizi wrote on Friday evening. The top official, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, was responding to earlier claims made by Trump. Vice President JD Vance said on social media that Iran should “pick up the phone” if there are disagreements about the ceasefire agreement. The British military said on Thursday that a projectile off the coast of Oman hit a container ship. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said no injuries were reported. This came hours after Iran threatened vessels, urging them to stop using the route. The attack on the cargo ship happened while a United Nations maritime agency was beginning an operation to move stranded ships out of the strait this week --- using an alternative route that hugged the shores of Oman rather than sailing through the central part of the strait. The International Maritime Organisation halted the evacuations after the attack, and said on Friday that they won't resume until there are guarantees that the other ships won't be attacked. "The U.S. attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations once again. The failed U.S. President has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire. This reckless violation of the ceasefire will, as always, lead to retreat and regret on their part. The blame game does not work anymore," countered an X post from Ebrahim Azizi --- the head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission. "Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence," said US Vice President JD Vance. "The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz. One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement," Donald Trump wrote on X. Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said it targeted U.S. military positions in the region, in response to a fresh U.S. strike against Iran. The Guards did not provide details on the U.S. positions it targeted in the region. The statement by IRGC came after semi-official ISNA news agency carried an earlier statement it said was from the IRGC saying the force's response to a fresh U.S. attack against Iran will be "swift and decisive," before later deleting the statement. The US military attacked Iran on Friday in response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, with each country accusing the other of violating terms of a ceasefire agreed on last week. US Central Command said aircraft struck missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites, and a U.S. official reported the operation had concluded. Iran said a projectile struck the area around a pier in Sirik in southern Iran, and that Iranian naval forces responded by striking U.S. military targets in the region.
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