Trump says ceasefire holding after US and Iran unleashed strikes

From CNN staff

US President Donald Trump sought to allay fears of the truce between the US and Iran folding overnight, after Tehran and Washington launched attacks on non-allied vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

As violence flared in the region, global oil prices inched higher. The price of Brent crude oil, the international barometer, increased by 0.2% at $100.3 early Friday. However, the shift was limited compared to swings earlier this week, indicating traders are confident the US-Iran ceasefire will hold.

Here’s what you need to know:

• “Just a love tap:” Trump insisted the fraught truce with Tehran was still holding, referring to the US salvo overnight as a “love tap.” “The ceasefire is going. It’s in effect,” he told ABC News in a phone interview on Thursday. Earlier that day, the US president threatened to strike Iran “a lot more violently” if leaders do not accede to a proposal to end the war.

• Iran deployed missiles on US warships: Iranian forces attacked US naval ships late Thursday, including with “anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles” and “loitering” drones, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

• Fresh barrage hits UAE: The UAE’s defense ministry warned of incoming missiles from Tehran and urged the public to “remain calm,” after several Iranian news outlets framed Abu Dhabi as partly responsible for the uptick in violence.

• Proposal in the balance: Officials in Tehran are reading through “messages” from the White House, according to Iranian media, after the US proposed halting fire and a 30-day negotiating period for resolving outstanding demands, according to a source familiar.

• Israeli attacks batter Lebanon, killing paramedic: The Israeli military killed 12 people and injured dozens others in strikes on Lebanon Thursday, according to the Lebanese Public Ministry of Health. A paramedic and a child were among those killed in the south, the ministry said. The UN previously warned such attacks “undermine people’s access to care.”

US choice of strike targets sends a warning to Iran, CNN military analyst says

By Mustafa Qadri

The US strikes on key military sites Thursday sent a warning to Iran about the scope of any potential escalation in the conflict, according to CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton.

The US Central Command said it targeted military facilities responsible for launching missile, drone and small boat attacks against American warships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. A US official told CNN that strikes were carried out in multiple locations including Bandar Abbas and Qeshm.

A spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces said US airstrikes hit civilian areas along the coasts of Qeshm Island, Bandar Khamir and Sirik.

“Bandar Abbas is the naval headquarters for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and it is strategically located right at that bend in the Strait of Hormuz, so these are significant targets,” Leighton told CNN’s Elex Michaelson.

“That idea was to basically send a message to the Iranians… (that the US) can go further than this,” Leighton said. “It definitely caused some consternation in Iran and that was the goal as well.”

After the strikes, President Donald Trump said the ceasefire remains in effect, but warned “we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently” if Iran doesn’t sign a deal soon.