Trump blames Iran for ‘foolish’ strike on cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz

Fragile US-Iran ceasefire tested as drone strike off Oman draws stern warning from the US president.United States President Donald Trump has condemned what he called Iran’s “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a drone struck a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.Trump did not identify the ship in his post on Truth Social on Friday. But the British military said that a vessel was hit by a projectile off Oman on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Who has profited most from the war on Iran?list 2 of 3Iran slams the GCC and the US for ‘interventionist’ statement: What we knowlist 3 of 3Why has the UN paused plans to evacuate sailors from the Strait of Hormuz?end of listThe Singapore-flagged Ever Lovely, owned by Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine – had been stranded in the Gulf for more than 100 days after loading cargo in Iraq.No crew members were injured and the ship was able to continue its voyage. US forces intercepted three other drones launched in the same coordinated attack.“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,” Trump wrote.“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement,” he added.Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but two US officials told the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity on Thursday that Iran fired on the ship.It comes at a fragile time, as the US and Iran are negotiating an interim peace deal.They are in the midst of a 60-day memorandum of understanding recently signed between Washington and Tehran, with both sides agreeing to lift naval blockades and open the Strait of Hormuz to free passage while negotiators work towards a longer-term deal on Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions relief.The Ever Lovely had chosen a southern route along the Omani coast rather than corridors designated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which hours before the attack had issued a directive demanding all commercial vessels coordinate directly with the Iranian Navy.