U.S. conducts further strikes on Iran

Each of the warring sides has accused the other of violating the agreement reached two weeks ago to end the conflict that began Feb. 28 with U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran.

"There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!" U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media.

U.S. Central Command said its forces carried out fresh strikes after a Panama-flagged tanker was attacked by an Iranian drone. In Iran, state broadcaster IRIB said early Sunday that explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing further details.

"Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to," U.S. 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 defense, drone storage and mine-laying facilities.

A U.S. defense official later reported the strikes on Iranian targets were complete, according to Fox News.

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

Britain's UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker hit Saturday 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.

Iranian state television reported the Revolutionary Guard fired "warning shots" toward unspecified vessels attempting to pass through channels not approved by Iran, and this prompted other ships to seek Iranian permits before attempting to transit the strait.

Earlier, Washington said it hit Iranian targets overnight and Iran's Foreign Ministry said it launched "defensive" attacks on U.S.-linked military targets. Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy's regional headquarters, reported an Iranian drone attack. Bahrain said the attack violated the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding. The U.S. military did not immediately respond to the reports.

Iran asserts control over vital strait

Iran accused the U.S. of failing to uphold the interim agreement, in particular by failing to sustain a promised ceasefire in Lebanon, which U.S. ally Israel invaded in March in pursuit of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

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

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

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Trump that he hoped Washington would help prevent violations of the agreement with Israel and ensure agreed commitments are fulfilled, particularly by pressing Israel to withdraw from occupied areas in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese presidency said Saturday. Aoun also told Trump in a phone call that Lebanon would assume its responsibilities in implementing the agreement, it said.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected the day-old Israel-Lebanon agreement as 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 spread beyond Hezbollah to the wider Shi'ite community.

Israeli Defense 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 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.

Throughout the war, Iran responded to U.S. attacks by hitting neighboring Persian Gulf states that host large U.S. military bases. Iranian state television said the Revolutionary Guard delivered "a decisive response" after U.S. forces hit a communications tower in the port city of Sirik. Iran's Mehr news agency said the Iranian port operated normally with no damage reported to facilities or equipment.

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

However, fully resolving the global energy crisis would require sustained two-way traffic through the strait at pre-war levels, likely possible only if shippers accept it as safe.

Washington promoted 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 Saturday that violations of Iran's shipping instructions would be met decisively.