US and Iran exchange strikes for second day, escalating hostilities

The US and Iran exchanged strikes for the second day in a row on Saturday after what Washington said another attack on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump issued a stark warning amid the hostilities, the second and worst flare-up since the two sides signed an MoU, accusing Iran of “violating the interim deal” and threatening to “militarily complete the job that we very successfully [had] started”.

Late on Saturday, the US military said it struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that the cities of Bandar-e Lengeh, and Sirik as well as Qeshm Island were targeted in the US attacks.

Iran responded by targeting US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, Al Jazeera reported.

Iran says US violated peace deal as both sides trade fire

Each of the warring sides has accused the other of violating the agreement reached two weeks ago to end the four-month-old conflict, reports Reuters.

US Central Command said on Saturday its forces carried out fresh strikes after a Panama-flagged tanker was attacked by an Iranian drone early on Saturday.

"Iran was given a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement but elected not to," US Central Command said in a statement. It said the strikes were "in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping" and targeted Iranian military surveillance, communications, air defence, drone storage and mine-laying facilities.

A US defence official later reported that the strikes on Iranian targets were complete, according to Fox News.

Washington said earlier that it hit Iranian targets overnight. Iran said it responded on Saturday by striking targets linked to US forces, Reuters reported.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its Navy and Air Force launched ballistic missiles and drones at the US Army at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Naval Fleet at Port Salman in the Bahraini capital, Manama.

The Kuwaiti military said the country’s air defences responded to “hostile missile and drone threats”.

In Bahrain, Interior Ministry urged people to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place” as “the siren has been sounded”.

Saturday's attack on a tanker in the strait followed another on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latest escalation. Iran has made a fresh bid to assert control over the world's most important energy shipping route, which has begun to reopen after months of disruption.

For Iran, the Strait of Hormuz is almost the only leverage that Iran has in the ongoing negotiations. And Iranians believe if they allow the country to be bypassed, then they’re going to lose their biggest leverage, and it’s going to significantly weaken the Iranians’ hand at the negotiating table.

That’s why they’re saying they are ready to fight to preserve their control over the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent.

Britain's UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker hit on Saturday had sustained damage to its bridge, with all crew reported safe. The Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a coalition of navies protecting shipping, raised its security threat level as a result of recent incidents.

Iran has not directly commented on reports of specific attacks on ships. But Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards fired "warning shots" toward unspecified vessels attempting to pass through channels not approved by Iran, and that this was now prompting other ships to seek Iranian permits before attempting to cross the strait.

Earlier, Iran's foreign ministry said it launched "defensive" attacks on US-linked military targets, while Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's regional headquarters, reported an Iranian drone attack. The US military did not immediately respond to the reports.

Iran has accused the United States of not upholding the interim agreement, in particular by not sustaining a promised ceasefire in Lebanon, which US ally Israel invaded in March in pursuit of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Israel and Lebanon have repeatedly agreed to US-brokered ceasefires, the latest of which was announced on Friday. But these have had only limited overall impact, with Israel insisting it will not withdraw from territory it has seized and Hezbollah repeatedly rejecting calls to give up its arms as long as Israeli troops remain in place.

Lebanese state television reported an Israeli drone strike on Saturday in the Nabatiyeh area in the south, which has experienced Israeli strikes throughout the conflict. The Israeli military said it had targeted a person who posed a threat to its forces.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the day-old Israel-Lebanon agreement as a surrender, and said it was "null and void."

With hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, mainly Shi'ite Muslims, still unable to return to homes in Israeli-occupied areas, anger over the agreement has spread beyond Hezbollah to the wider Shi'ite community.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz praised the agreement, saying it allows Israel to maintain its occupation of a so-called security zone in Lebanon and bars the return of displaced residents.

Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said Washington had violated the war-ending memorandum of understanding by supporting what he called proxy forces in the region and creating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has also struck neighbouring Gulf states that host large US military bases. Iranian state television said the Revolutionary Guards had delivered "a decisive response" after US forces hit a communications tower in the port city of Sirik. Iran's Mehr news agency said the Iranian port was operating normally with no damage reported to facilities or equipment.

Bahrain said Iran's latest attacks violated the memorandum of understanding.

Hundreds of ships, including tankers laden with oil, have been blockaded inside the Gulf since war broke out. As they began leaving through the strait over the past two weeks, oil prices have tumbled close to pre-war levels on the resulting surge in supply.

Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the coast of Oman, while Tehran, which ultimately aims to charge fees for use of the strait, wants ships to use a northern route through its waters and under its control.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said on Saturday that any violation of Iran's shipping instructions would be met decisively.

US Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump's chief negotiator on the conflict, said the Americans had adhered to the ceasefire deal and blamed Iran for any return to conflict that might result from its actions.

"Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honoured 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," Vance said on X.