The fragile US‑Iran ceasefire faces strain after a drone strike off Oman draws a sharp rebuke from the president.
Published On 26 Jun 2026
President Donald Trump denounced what he described as Iran’s “foolish breach” of the ceasefire after a drone struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump did not name the vessel in his Truth Social post on Friday, though British forces reported that a ship was struck by a projectile off Oman on Thursday.
The Singapore‑flagged Ever Lovely, operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, had been stranded in the Gulf for over 100 days after loading cargo in Iraq.
No crew members were hurt and the vessel resumed its journey, while U.S. forces intercepted three additional drones launched in the same coordinated barrage.
“One of the drones struck the upper deck of a large, costly cargo vessel, causing damage but allowing the ship to continue on its course,” Trump wrote.
“This clearly constitutes a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement,” he added.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the strike, yet two unnamed U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday that Iran launched the attack.
The incident occurs amid delicate U.S.–Iran negotiations over an interim peace accord.
The two sides are operating under a recently signed 60‑day memorandum of understanding that calls for lifting naval blockades and opening the Strait of Hormuz to free passage, while negotiators pursue a broader agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief.
The Ever Lovely opted for a southern route along the Omani coast, bypassing the corridors designated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which had issued a directive just hours earlier requiring all commercial vessels to coordinate directly with the Iranian Navy.
The strike halted IMO efforts to escort hundreds of stranded vessels from the Gulf, where more than 11,000 seafarers have been marooned for months.
Iran had previously denounced as “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative” a joint statement by the United States and six Gulf states that rejected Tehran’s claim to levy tolls on ships transiting the strait.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, defended Tehran’s stance on Friday on X, asserting that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be assured under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decisions that ignore Iran’s status as a coastal state.”
The IRGC rejected U.S. claims that a direct communication channel had been set up between Tehran and Washington concerning the strait.
“This is a complete fabrication and we firmly reject it,” said IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, as quoted by Iran’s official news agency IRNA. “The Strait of Hormuz is Iranian sovereign territory and bears no link to the United States,” he added.
Al Jazeera’s Washington correspondent Mike Hanna noted on Friday that Trump’s social media comment appeared several hours after the attack, rather than instantly, unlike his usual rapid reactions to news.
“By Trump’s standards, the message is relatively restrained,” Hanna observed about the Truth Social post. “He usually expresses far greater outrage, yet this still constitutes a firm warning from the president about the perils of breaching the ceasefire.”
Also Read
- If the Market Stumbles, These Are the Financial Stocks Worth Buying
- US strikes Iran in response to attack on ship that Trump says violated ceasefire
- Dembele’s Rapid Hat-Trick Propels France to Dominant Victory Over Norway
- AI Concerns and Rate Hike Fears Trigger Tech Sell-Off, Ending Market Winning Streak