The Strait of Hormuz is a central part of the conflict.Image: keystone
June 26, 2026, 10:51 p.mJune 27, 2026, 07:28
For the first time since the signing of the framework agreement with Tehran to resolve the war, the US military has reported attacks against Iran again. The aerial attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage facilities as well as coastal radar systems were carried out in response to the attack on a cargo ship on Thursday, the Centcom regional command responsible for the Middle East said late on Friday afternoon US Eastern Time.
US President Donald Trump had previously attributed the attack on the cargo ship to Iran and viewed it as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
How Iran reacts
In response to the US attacks, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy (IRGC) attacked US targets in the region, said a statement from the Iranian elite unit. The information cannot be independently verified; confirmation from the US side was initially pending.
What is known about the US attacks
According to Iranian reports, noises of explosions were reported from the Iranian city of Sirik on Saturday night. This was reported by state television Irib, among others. The city in the Hormuzgan province is located on the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz and has repeatedly been the target of US attacks in the past. Projectile impacts were also reported from the island of Gheschm.
Several US media outlets, citing a US official, reported that six US Air Force fighter jets attacked four Iranian positions along the Strait of Hormuz and on the island of Gheshm. The attacks therefore lasted around 90 minutes.
The island of Gheshm (marked in red) and the Strait of Hormuz.Map: Google Maps
What is known about the attack on the ship
An attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz was reported on Thursday. According to the US military, Iran hit the Singapore-flagged merchant ship with a drone as it exited the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast.
The British Merchant Shipping Safety Authority (UKMTO) said an “unknown projectile” had damaged the ship’s bridge. The incident off the coast of Oman came a few hours after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that passage was only safe on routes set by Tehran.
In response to the attack on the ship, the World Maritime Organization (IMO) initially suspended its evacuation of stranded sailors. According to its own information, it was able to evacuate 2,500 sailors by the time its mission was interrupted in the Strait of Hormuz.
In the wake of the American-Israeli attacks on Iran, the Islamic Republic largely closed the important strait to shipping traffic at the beginning of March through threats and attacks. The USA subsequently responded with its own naval blockade of ships arriving at or leaving Iranian ports. As part of the framework agreement, both blockades have now been lifted.
Trump had previously condemned the attack on the ship
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump had accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement. According to him, Iran launched at least four drone strikes against ships in the Strait of Hormuz. One of the drones hit a cargo ship. The freighter was therefore able to continue its journey despite the damage.
The US military shot down the other three drones. “This is obviously a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.
What will happen to the goal of permanently ending the war?
Washington and Tehran recently agreed on this agreement after laborious negotiations. It came into force last week and includes, among other things, a temporary end to hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which is central to global oil trade. The framework agreement is also considered a starting point for in-depth negotiations. These are initially scheduled to last 60 days and are intended to focus, among other things, on the controversial Iranian nuclear program. After the recent attacks, it was initially unclear what would happen next.
US Vice President JD Vance wrote after his country’s attacks on Platform X that Iran had signed a ceasefire agreement. The USA would have adhered to it. If Iranian representatives have objections to the implementation of the agreement, they could contact them by telephone. “However, violence is met with violence,” he emphasized.
US Vice President Vance: USA has kept to agreements.Image: keystone
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards also referred to the agreed ceasefire in their statement on counterstrikes. According to the framework agreement, responsibility for regulating traffic through the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran, it said. However, this is not explicitly described in the published agreement.
Before this statement, various media outlets had picked up on an alleged statement from the IRGC that the Guards had announced retaliation. This is no longer available on the Internet and was later described as false by IRGC-affiliated media.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior US official as saying that the ceasefire remains in place despite the renewed attacks. It was said that the US attacks were solely a retaliation measure for the attack on the cargo ship.
Framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel
The conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia is also closely linked to the end of the war between the USA and Iran. On Friday, Lebanon and Israel agreed on a framework agreement. The agreement is a “first step” towards lasting peace between the two countries, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the agreement and described it as a major defeat for Iran. However, the Hezbollah militia rejected the agreement and does not see itself bound by it. The Shiite militia – considered Iran’s most important non-state ally – did not take part in the talks that lasted several days in the US capital. The Lebanese government, on the other hand, is not a party to the war.
Following the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, protests broke out in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Supporters of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia marched through the city on foot and on motorcycles in the evening and at night and shouted protest slogans against the agreement, as reported by the television station LBC International and eyewitnesses. Streets were therefore blocked with burning tires. (sda/dpa)