Large commercial ships and a small boat sail from the port south of the city of Bandar Abbas, Iran on June 21, 2026.
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A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was reported to have caught fire on Saturday, the latest escalation of tensions between the US and Iran in recent days following an interim agreement to end hostilities in the region.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center said the vessel on the ferry was hit by an “unidentified projectile,” with the bridge damaged but the crew reported safe. Bahrain also on Saturday condemned the Iranian drone strike as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.
The new attack comes as the US and Iran were supposed to agree to a 60-day ceasefire as they hold talks to end their war. But both accused the other of breaking their end of the deal.
The US military attacked Iran on Friday after President Donald Trump accused the Islamic Republic of a “stupid violation” of a ceasefire by launching drone attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said its aircraft “hit Iran’s missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar sites.”
This comes after Iran attacked on Thursday the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely off the coast of Oman, the Central Command said in a post in X. The ship continued on its way through the port, which is a major oil transportation channel.
Iran did not directly comment on reports of specific attacks on ships. However, state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp fired “warning shots” at unspecified Iranian-sanctioned vessels attempting to pass through the channels, Reuters reported.
The renewed attack comes more than a week after Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at forging a permanent peace agreement to end hostilities between their two nations.
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Switzerland last weekend to discuss the deal with his Iranian counterparts.
Vance, in a blog post on X on Friday, wrote, “Iran has signed an agreement to end the war. We have respected it.”
“If they have a disagreement about how the MOU is being implemented, they can pick up the phone,” Vance wrote. “But violence will be met with violence.
Shortly before the Central Command announced the retaliatory strikes on Friday, Trump was asked by a reporter at the White House what the consequences would be for Iran for violating the ceasefire agreement.
“You will find out,” replied the president.
After the US strikes, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement: “After the violation of the decision to suspend the Zionist regime in the south of Lebanon, a few hours ago, the US regime that broke the agreement, as usual, broke its obligations and, under various reasons, attacked the coast of the Islamic Republic of Iran with an air strike because of the illegal passage. Hormuz.”
“The IRGC Navy has responded to this violence by striking American guerrilla positions in the region,” the IRGC said.
“According to Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the plans to control the passage through the Strait of Hormuz are in accordance with the Islamic Republic of Iran; however, the US, by provoking various groups, tried to violate this obligation, which was given the necessary response, and this will be the case from now on.”
“If aggression recurs, our response will be more comprehensive than this,” the IRGC said.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, in the X post said, “The US attacked Iran during the negotiations again.”
“The American President who failed showed that he is not committed to the goals of negotiations or ending the war,” said Azizi.
“This reckless violation of the ceasefire, as usual, will lead to them retreating and regretting. Blaming each other no longer works.”
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.
