WASHINGTON/TEHRAN – The US military on Friday launched airstrikes on Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar installations, calling the operation "a powerful response" to the alleged Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, according to the US Central Command.

Iran's drone attack on commercial shipping in the strait "clearly violated the ceasefire" and "undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor," the command said in a post on X.

The command vowed to "continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait" while remaining "present and vigilant" to ensure the newly signed US-Iran peace deal is "obeyed, and in full force and effect."

Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump said that Iran launched at least four one-way attack drones at the cargo ship on Thursday.

"One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

"Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way," he said. "We knocked down three other Drones." Trump said the drone attack "obviously" violated the newly signed US-Iran ceasefire agreement.

He did not name the ship or specify when the strike occurred. However, the British military said Thursday that a vessel had been hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman.

The newly signed US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that carried about 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, and required Iran to allow commercial vessels to pass without charge for 60 days.

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The latest shipping data pointed to a partial rebound in traffic through the strait following the MoU signing, though current flows remained well below prewar levels

The International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, said Thursday in a statement that it had suspended efforts to evacuate ships stranded in the crucial global energy waterway in the wake of the drone attack.  

On Feb 28, Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran retaliated with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel and US regional assets, while tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz to bar Israeli- and US-linked vessels.

On June 18, Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, following which they have started negotiations on a final agreement.

Commitment to GCC security

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Friday dismissed a US claim of an "enduring commitment to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) security" as mere "rhetoric and a distortion of reality."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the claim in a US-GCC joint statement issued after their ministerial meeting in the Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday.

In response, the ministry said in a statement that US military presence in GCC countries is merely a "burden on regional nations and a cause of insecurity and division."

It said the US use of bases in regional states to commit "the crime of aggression" against Iran during the 40-day war proved Washington places no value on those states' security or mutual relations.It reminded GCC countries of their "explicit obligation" in accordance with international law and the principle of good neighborliness to prevent any use by third parties of their territories and facilities to plan, organize and support "military aggression" against Iran.

Also on Friday, Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned in a statement against Israeli military aircraft's "movements" in some neighboring states' airspace, calling those "a dangerous action and a threat" against Iran.

It did not provide further details on the movements.

Iran briefs foreign diplomats on MoU implementation

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held separate phone calls on Friday with his counterparts of Uzbekistan, South Korea, Romania, Britain, and Pakistan to discuss the implementation of a recently signed peace MoU between Iran and the US.

Araghchi briefed his counterparts on the latest developments regarding the MoU's implementation, including the process of negotiations between Tehran and Washington toward a final agreement, and the consultations held within that framework, according to statements from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and Romanian Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Toiu welcomed ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in West Asia, stressing the need for the continuation of the process and the involved parties' fulfillment of their mutual commitments, the statements said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun voiced his country's support for diplomatic efforts aimed at ensuring peace and stability, and shipping security in the region, according to the ministry.

Araghchi and his counterparts also called for continued diplomatic and political consultations to guarantee lasting regional stability, and the expansion of bilateral relations and cooperation, said the statements.