US, Iran trade strikes putting new strain on Mideast ceasefire

Iran says US violated peace deal as both sides trade fire

FE Team | Published: June 27, 2026 22:00:16

TEHRAN, June 27 (Agencies): The United States (US) and Iran traded military strikes after Washington on Friday accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggle to contain the Middle East war.
US Central Command said the American strikes, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, 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."
Vice President JD Vance issued a direct warning, posting on X that "violence will be met with violence" if Iran carries out any further attacks.
Minutes later, on Saturday morning, Iran time, state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards said they targeted US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation for the American strikes.
"If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this," the Guards said, according to a post by state TV on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Iran on Saturday accused the United States of violating the peace deal agreed to end the Middle East war, after Washington launched strikes on Iranian territory and Tehran responded with attacks on US targets in the Gulf.
The trading of fire, which came after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the week, raised questions about efforts to keep the crucial waterway open while both sides negotiate a broader, final deal.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest American strikes, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, were a response to "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces" that "clearly violated the ceasefire".
US Vice President JD Vance on Friday warned Iran it will face "violence" if it carries out any further attacks after the US military said it had responded to an Iranian strike against a cargo ship.
"Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence," Vance posted on X, referring to the memorandum of understanding meant to stop nearly four months of conflict.
Earlier, Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut late Friday to protest an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, as a lawmaker from the Iran-backed group warned enforcing the deal risked sparking civil war.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that "Hezbollah supporters rode motorbikes through the streets of Beirut" including central areas and along a road leading to the airport "in protest at the framework agreement announced between Lebanon and Israel".
An AFP correspondent saw people riding motorbikes and chanting slogans along one road, as well as Lebanese army temporary checkpoints set up along several streets of the capital.
Lebanese "authorities will be unable to impose the implementation of the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war," said Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, whose party has long rejected the direct Israel-Lebanon talks.
He added that "what happened in Washington is an attempt to disrupt the Islamabad path, and without the resistance (Hezbollah) nothing will pass," referring to the initial agreement between the US and Iran on halting the Middle East war, which includes Lebanon.
Footage circulating on local outlets and social media showed hundreds of Hezbollah supporters on motorbikes and mopeds roaming Beirut's southern suburbs, the group's stronghold, before they headed to the heart of the capital.