Newsweek36%
Second Ship Hit in Hormuz Strait After Trump Slams ‘Foolish’ Attack 12%
By Ellie Cook25% Gabe Whisnant20% Steve Mollman42%
6/26/2026, 4:29:05 AM
Topics: Iran War, Donald Trump, Strait Of Hormuz, U S Military, Drones, Ships, Iran, Israel, Persian Gulf, Middle East, Tehran, Irgc, Taiwan, Singapore, U N
Keywords: Iran War, Donald Trump, Strait Of Hormuz, U S Military, Drones, Ships, Iran, Israel, Persian Gulf, Middle East, Tehran, Irgc, Taiwan, Singapore, U N
BS Summary: This article contains 26 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Ambiguity (Equivocation), and Fundamental Attribution Error, with Post Hoc (False Cause) as the most egregious example at 15.7% saturation with 212 hits. Analysis detected 1,539 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,351 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 28.2% and a BS Rank of 12% (19,465 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 88.90% of the article peer group.
U.S.
Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces carried out additional strikes on Iranian targets on Saturday in response to what it described as continued Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The military said Iran had been given an opportunity to uphold a ceasefire agreement but instead launched a one-way attack drone that struck the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku early Saturday as it transited near the strait carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces responded by targeting Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and mine-laying capabilities.
Strait Tensions Escalate
CENTCOM said Friday that American forces targeted Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations.
The strikes lasted roughly an hour and concluded just before 1:30 a.m. local time in Iran, the Associated Press reported.
The earlier U.S. action came shortly after President Donald Trump on Friday declined to say whether the U.S. would retaliate or if the fragile ceasefire was still in place, telling reporters in the Oval Office at the White House: “You’ll find out.”
“I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four, we knocked down three...
At a ship, not at an allied ship, but a very expensive ship.
They shouldn't be doing that," the president said.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote Iran launched four “one-way attack drones” at ships transiting the strait, with one striking the upper deck of the cargo vessel and causing damage.
He called the attack a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday it has targeted U.S. military positions in the region following the fresh U.S. airstrike against Iran, though it did not specify which locations, Reuters reports.
Iran has also warned Gulf states against supporting U.S. or international efforts to establish alternative shipping routes in the strait, as Tehran seeks leverage in ongoing talks on a potential deal with Washington.
The warning came after a cargo ship was attacked southeast of Oman in a suspected Iranian drone strike, an incident that escalated tensions in the waterway.
Asked Friday why strikes were carried out despite his repeated claims that talks with Tehran were progressing, Trump offered a brief answer, saying of Iran: “They’re a little bit different.”
“Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,” CENTCOM said Saturday, adding the strikes were carried out “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.”
Ship Attack Raises Ceasefire Concerns in Strait of Hormuz
Saturday’s incident followed the earlier attack on the cargo ship and came amid the most serious escalation since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire earlier this month.
Taiwan's Evergreen Marine said on Friday that its Singapore-flagged ship Ever Lovely was hit by an "unknown object" while on a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO, close to Oman.
Evergreen said initial inspections showed damage to the bridge windows.
"The crew, vessel and cargo are all safe," the company said in a stock exchange statement.
"The vessel has safely departed the Strait of Hormuz."
Marine tracking data showed the Ever Lovely in the Gulf of Oman as of Friday morning, en route to Singapore.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship, while an unnamed U.S. source told the AP the vessel was struck by a drone belonging to the IRGC.
In a Saturday update, maritime security officials said the latest vessel hit in the strait suffered damage but reported no casualties, as alerts in the region were raised following a string of incidents.
The UKMTO said Saturday it had raised its threat level from moderate to “substantial” in the strait following attacks on merchant vessels.
“Mariners are advised of the existence of mines and should expect naval presence as clearance operations continue,” UKMTO said in an advisory.
The IRGC had warned seafarers against traveling on routes not approved by Tehran, shortly after the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO) said earlier this week it would evacuate roughly 11,000 stranded sailors from the Strait of Hormuz.
Ebrahim Azizi, who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, responded on social media Friday to Trump’s remarks, saying the Strait of Hormuz “is governed by Iran” and warning the U.S. to “respect the rules” and “not mistake control for escalation.”
“This is not a violation of the ceasefire; it is ceasefire management,” Azizi wrote.
Iranian state media reported the IRGC had fired what it described as “warning shots” toward ships using routes not approved by Tehran, though Iran has not directly commented on reports of specific attacks.
Bahrain also said Saturday that it was targeted in an Iranian drone attack, an incident that drew swift condemnation from U.S. allies in the Middle East.
Iran Warns Against Alternative Shipping Routes
The IMO said a new shipping corridor had "the necessary safety guarantees" and was agreed with Oman and Iran, among other states in the region.
The IRGC, however, said Tehran was not consulted and the "proposed route is unacceptable and poses serious safety risks."
At least two routes have emerged for ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz; one favored by Iran, and one closer to Oman.
The one announced by the U.N. appears to be the corridor closer to Muscat’s territory.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Friday "parallel routes" wouldn’t guarantee the safety of ships in the passage, and warned it could suspend travel through the route closest to Iranian soil if ships traveled without approval from Iran.
An alternative route undercuts Iran’s power over the strait and any potential fees it could collect.
While 15 ships left the Gulf using Iran’s route on Wednesday, 26 transited via waters near Oman, according to data from shipping intelligence firm Windward, cited by the Reuters news agency.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said on Thursday an evacuation of sailors would be temporarily halted "until further clarity is obtained" on the attack on the cargo ship.
Dominguez said the vessel did not travel through the strait as part of the U.N.'s evacuation.
Joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran nearly four months ago prompted Iran to effectively shutter the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important trade routes, to any ships it doesn't deem friendly.
The threat of Iranian attacks wreaked havoc with global markets and fuel prices and proved to be one of Tehran's most important pressure points against Washington.
Strait of Hormuz Tensions Threaten Global Shipping and Talks
Since the U.S. and Iran inked a 14-point memorandum of understanding in mid-June, some vessels have managed to pass through the strait, although numbers are far below the prewar levels of traffic of about 135 ships per day.
A first round of talks on a final agreement, which ended in Switzerland on Sunday, produced "encouraging progress," mediators said.
But major issues, like Iran's nuclear program, still remain unresolved, with both sides jockeying for an advantage in negotiations.
Under the already-signed memorandum of understanding, Tehran pledged its "best efforts" to make sure commercial vessels can transit the strait for 60 days without paying any tolls to Iran.
But Iran has said it still plans to charge fees for ships to pass safely, which the U.S. has categorically rejected, saying no one should pay to use of international waters.
In a joint statement released on Thursday, the U.S. and the Gulf states called for "free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation" and no tolls in the strait.
Iran’s foreign ministry, responding on Friday, railed against "hostile and interventionist policies in the region."
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body set up by Iran to control traffic through the strait, said on Thursday any ship not using Iran-approved routes would not "be covered by safe passage guarantees."
"Any consequences arising from unauthorized routing shall be the sole responsibility of the vessel owner, charterer, and master," the authority said.
*Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao, Tony Phillips, Anna Commander and Edward Cummins.
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100%flagged-word coverageEbrahim Azizi
55 attributed words8.1% of attributed speech73% writer coverage
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