US says it struck Iranian targets as ceasefire strained in second day of attacks

The incident likely follows US air strikes (ISNA via AP)

The US military said it had struck multiple targets in Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the war’s uneasy ceasefire.

US Central Command, in a post to social media, said that US military aircraft targeted Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a merchant vessel early on Saturday morning.

The incident follows a similar back and forth that occurred just days prior when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday and the US military retaliated with strikes the next day.

US Central Command said that Iranian forces attacked the oil tanker Kiku with a one-way drone.

The tanker was laden with more than two million barrels of crude oil and sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said that “Iran had a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement” but “elected not to” when its forces attacked the Kiku.

Iran state TV reported explosions in an area just north of the Strait of Hormuz.