President Trump touts interim deal with Iran, promises $2.50 gas
President Trump touted a tentative deal with Iran to end the war, saying it would lead to lower U.S. gas prices.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Central Command announced on June 26 that its military had carried out an attack against Iran as the military’s “robust response” to the Iranian attack on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz the previous day.
U.S. military aircraft attacked missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar sites. The attack was carried out in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely on June 25.
President Donald Trump claimed the Iranian attack was a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement for peace talks. He told reporters that “we will know” about a retaliatory strike within two hours of the U.S. attack.
President Trump said Iran sent at least four attack drones, and the U.S. military shot down three. The fourth hit the cargo ship, but the ship was able to sail despite the damage.
“Clearly this is a foolish violation of the ceasefire agreement,” President Trump said on social media.
About two hours before the airstrike, President Trump was asked whether the ceasefire would hold, telling reporters, “We’ll see.”
“I don’t like the fact that yesterday they fired shots. Four shots, actually,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “It’s not an Allied ship, but it’s a ship. It’s a very expensive ship, and it was okay, but it hurt a little. They shouldn’t do that. You’ll find out soon enough.”
In published reports after the attack, Iranian media said the projectiles landed near a pier in Sirik, southern Iran.
Iran’s military’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its response to the new U.S. attack would be “swift and decisive,” according to state television.
The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a joint bombing campaign in Iran. Thousands of people, including 13 U.S. military personnel, died in combat as the war rocked the global economy.
From April, Although the war is nearly at a ceasefire, U.S. officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have sought progress toward a comprehensive peace agreement, with limited success.
President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a deal on June 18 to end the war on all fronts. The deal was aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and giving officials 60 days to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. sanctions.
Iran said the attack on the cargo ship was a response to an “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative” joint statement by the United States and six countries denying shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump promoted the toll ban on social media on June 24th.
“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed with ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, and decisions that do not take into account Iran’s role as a coastal state,” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Ghalibabadi said on social media on June 26.
Contributed by: Reuters
