Star Metro - US strikes Iran sites after cargo ship attack

US Central Command said the strikes were a response to "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces" that "clearly violated the ceasefire."

It described the operation as "a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city.

It quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area.

US President Donald Trump had earlier denounced what he described as an Iranian drone strike on the vessel, saying: "Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement."

The exchange raised fresh questions about efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Iran has warned vessels not to enter or leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz without permission, but ships have continued to move, some using a route not authorized by Tehran.

Around half of the 42 vessels that made the passage on Thursday used a non-approved southern route along the coast of Oman, according to the Kpler tracking platform.

The UN maritime agency said an evacuation operation had freed 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers trapped by the dispute before the attack forced its suspension.

Oil prices nevertheless fell sharply, reflecting hopes that traffic through the strategic strait -- which normally sees around a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports -- would keep recovering despite the latest flare-up.

- Lebanon framework -

Israel and Lebanon hailed an agreement signed with the United States to pave a way towards peace on their front in the war, although Iran-backed Hezbollah warned the deal would thwart plans to resolve the broader conflict.

At a signing ceremony in Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, flanked by Israeli and Lebanese envoys, said the trilateral accord "begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security."

"It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the framework as a victory against Iran, which argues that the Lebanon front is inseparable from the wider war and should be resolved as part of Tehran's talks with Washington.

"Iran has been trying to force us to withdraw from southern Lebanon through pressure but, in effect, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them: this is none of your business," Netanyahu said.

"You have no role in Lebanon -- not you, not Hezbollah and not any terrorist organization."

Netanyahu said the agreement would allow the Lebanese army to return to two "pilot areas" in southern Lebanon, but that Israeli forces would remain in their security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed. Displaced civilians will be prevented from returning.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the unpublished framework as a "first step" toward civilians returning home "under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state."

"There will be no more occupation, prisoners, subordination or tutelage," he said.

But Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the Washington signing sought to undercut the US-Iran ceasefire, which he said envisioned Lebanon being settled through the wider peace process.

The Lebanese government, he warned, would be unable to impose the agreement "unless they go, with American support, to civil war."

- Nuclear safeguards -

The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, meanwhile, warned that any final US-Iran settlement would need strong safeguards to ensure Tehran does not build a nuclear weapon.

Iran's nuclear program remains a central sticking point in the talks, with Tehran and Washington giving conflicting accounts of whether UN inspectors will regain access to Iranian facilities.

"The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said of developing nuclear weapons.

"But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place... as soon as is practicable," he added, warning that the agency had so far "barely initiated" talks with Iran.

The interim agreement says Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium -- estimated before the war at 440 kilograms, or 970 pounds, enriched to 60 percent -- should be "downblended" under IAEA supervision.

burs-ft/sst

S.Lapointe--SMC