ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday strongly condemned US airstrikes targeting the country’s southern coast, saying they violated the recently signed Tehran-Washington ceasefire deal and asserting that Iran’s retaliatory strikes on US targets were carried out in self-defense.

The US military carried out airstrikes on “Iranian missile and drone storage locations” and coastal radar sites on Friday evening in response to an alleged Iranian attack on a commercial ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, according to a statement from US Central Command (CENTCOM).

Iran’s foreign ministry described the operation as a “clear violation” of the first clause of the recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU), which requires a halt to all attacks across all fronts.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that it struck US sites in the Gulf in retaliation for the attacks on Iranian missile and drone facilities, warning that if the “aggression is repeated,” Iran’s response will be “broader than this.”

The ministry emphasized Iran’s “inherent right” to self-defense, adding that the subsequent “defensive strikes” carried out by the Iranian armed forces against US targets were conducted on that basis.

“Obviously, the responsibility for the consequences of this situation lies with the aggressor and covenant-breaking regime of the United States and the parties that are in any way complicit in the commission of the US’s aggressive actions,” the statement added.

Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump said “Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships in the Strait of Hormuz” and called it “a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”

Addressing the escalation, Vice President JD Vance said in a post on X that “violence will be met with violence,” adding that if Iran has disagreements over how the MoU is being implemented, “they can pick up the phone.”