Iran and US exchange strikes as Hormuz tensions stress agreement

(CNN) — A tanker reported being struck in the Strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran traded attacks, with tensions over the critical waterway straining a peace deal between the two nations.

In the first exchanges since the memorandum of understanding was signed last week, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that it targeted US military positions, Iranian state media Press TV reported, with the foreign ministry accusing the US of violating their agreement.

CNN has reached out to the White House and CENTCOM for comment but a US official told CNN the US “detected a couple drones,” adding they did not reach their target.

Bahrain, which hosts a US military base, reported Iranian drone attacks on its territory early Saturday morning. The country’s foreign affairs ministry condemned the strikes as “a flagrant violation of Bahrain’s sovereignty.” The target was unclear and there has been no initial comment from Tehran.

A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was meanwhile struck Saturday by an “unidentified projectile,” according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The vessel sustained damage but all crew members were uninjured, UKMTO said, as it advised ships to transit the area with caution.

The developments mark the latest in a series of back-and-forth strikes centered around the strait, casting uncertainty over the US-Iran agreement signed earlier this month which stipulates the gradual restoration of normal marine traffic.

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), which is overseen by the US Navy, raised the threat level in the strait to “substantial” on Saturday, a step it said it took following attacks on merchant vessels. Meanwhile a route through the Strait of Hormuz near Oman has been expanded to allow for greater passage of the simultaneous flow of marine traffic in both directions, the JMIC said, suggesting the US is pushing back at Iran’s control over the waterway.

Iran’s Saturday attacks come after the US military conducted strikes on Friday against Iranian military targets around the Strait of Hormuz. “US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites,” CENTCOM said. “The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire.”

The escalation began with an Iranian attack on Thursday against a commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, which US President Donald Trump described as a “foolish violation” of the agreement to end the war with Iran. A US official played down the prospect of escalation following the strikes, telling CNN they do not reflect a return to major combat operations, at least for now.

Vice President JD Vance — who took a lead role in negotiating the agreement with Iran announced last week — said Friday evening that “violence will be met with violence.”

The recent strikes have once again destabilized the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping chokepoints, amid a fragile memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran.

The memorandum stipulates that Iran will make “arrangements using its best efforts” to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and that traffic in the strait would return to the same volume as before the war began. However, it did not provide detailed conditions for fulfilling the terms.

The two sides have offered differing understandings of whether Iran would be able to charge fees for passing vessels. Trump has insisted the strait would remain toll-free, but Tehran has maintained it will have the right to charge passing ships.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.