the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said it had struck missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions on Friday, in response to a drone attack on a cargo ship on Thursday which halted a planned evacuation of sailors stuck in the region.

Tehran said the cargo ship was attacked because it was using an unauthorised route to transit through the Gulf waterway.  After the US strikes, Iran in turn accused the US of violating their interim deal and said it had struck targets linked to American forces. US Central Command - or Centcom - described the American strikes as "a powerful response" to the drone attack a day earlier. "The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire," it said in a statement. "Furthermore, Iran's dangerous behaviour undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor."  Centcom said the US military would "continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait". (BBC)