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Home News World Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they had attacked U.S. sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran Updated - June 27, 2026 10:54 am IST Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others watch, seated from left, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, counselor Dan Holler, and Lebanon's Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh, sign a framework agreement, described as a first step toward peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, at the State Department on June 26, 2026, in Washington. | Photo Credit: KEVIN WOLF The United States and Iran traded military strikes after Washington on Friday (June 26, 2026) accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggle to contain the war in West Asia.U.S. 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.”Also read: How Trump’s posts on Iran zigzagged during the warSecretary of State Marco Rubio joined Israel and Lebanon’s ambassadors to the U.S. on Friday (June 26, 2026) to announce a framework agreement that was described as a first step towards peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.The agreement does not include Hezbollah and prompted one of the group’s officials in Lebanon to warn of civil war. The U.S. State Department said the framework establishes a process for dismantling Hezbollah and for Lebanon to regain territory that was taken by Israeli forces as they battled the militant group.Follow the live updates below:June 27, 2026…

Three months of war with the United States and Israel may not have broken Iran’s resistance, but its economy has been brought to its knees.Forty days of American and Israeli bombing in March and early April – targeting energy grids, steel mills, petrochemical plants, ports and transport corridors – were followed by a two-month US naval blockade that sealed off much of what remained.The damage bill has reached an estimated US$270 billion against a gross domestic product of US$371 billion in 2025.By that measure, economists say the destruction is almost equivalent in scale to everything Iran lost during its nearly eight-year war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the 1980s – the last time the Islamic Republic posed a sustained threat to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.US Vice President J.D. Vance speaks to the media after the US and Iran held high-level talks in Switzerland on Monday. Photo: ReutersNow, with negotiators convening in Switzerland and a fragile ceasefire holding, the question is whether economic ruin can do what decades of sanctions and military pressure could not.

US strikes on Iran test fragile ceasefireNewsFeedThe US has struck Iran for the first time since the two sides reached a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17. The US says it hit Iranian military sites amid claims Iran’s forces attacked a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.Published On 27 Jun 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump spent six months threatening to destroy Iran, encouraging regime change, overseeing military strikes and warning that “all Hell” could break loose. Yet, he ended the crisis, for now, by signing a memorandum of understanding with Tehran. The period saw Mr. Trump taking several flip-flops, including an offer of support for Iranian protesters, a threat to erase Iran’s civilisation, a claim that Tehran had already seen regime change and a preliminary deal with Iran, pending more talks.The story began on the streets of Iran. The country saw street protests in January, triggered by a deepening economic crisis. Some protesters called for an end to the Islamic Republic itself and in parts of the country, the protests turned violent. On January 2, as the crisis was spreading across Iran’s main cities, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”Within days, Iran cracked down on the protests, which it said were triggered by “rioters” and “terrorists”. According to authorities, at least 3,000 people were killed.A few weeks later, Mr. Trump told Iranians “help is on the war”. “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!” he wrote in a post.Here, Mr. Trump was not merely expressing concern about the events unfolding inside Iran. He was directly encouraging Iranians to topple their government.The message was clear: the U.S. was openly sympathetic to forces seeking change within Iran. Mr. Trump sent U.S. warships, fighter jets and aircraft carriers to the region.On February 28, when Iran was holding talks with the U.S., Mr. Trump, in an eight-minute video, announced the launch of ‘Operation Epic Fury’, a major military campaign, along…

Even before Cristiano Ronaldo’s close-range shot had hit the back of net, the commentator had begun shouting. “Allllllllaaaaaaah!!!!” exclaimed Amer al-Khudhiri, an Omani football announcer for BeIN Sports, as the Portugal star scored his first goal of the 2026 World Cup against Uzbekistan on Tuesday.He took a deep breath and then began his soliloquy. “I knew you were coming for revenge. I knew you would answer everyone, the world, the World Cup, the doubters, those who have lost their memory,” al-Khudhiri said. “Oh history, put Ronaldo here as Portgual’s all-time top scorer, through all its history. Allah, Allah, Allah!”Al-Khudhiri waxed philosophical for more than a minute and a half. “I knew my night would be long and I knew my words might fail me, and I knew my vocal cords might break, and yet I am ready for that, happy, embracing heaven, O Ronaldo,” he said, his voice growing hoarse towards the end.With a record number of Middle Eastern teams at the 2026 World Cup, more fans than ever are tuning in across the region. But it is Arab football announcers and their commentary, which verges on poetry, rather than the players, who are stealing the show.From crowded seaside cafes in Lebanon, where excited fans stretch the limits of tired plastic chairs, to air-conditioned restaurants in the Gulf, the booming voices of commentators such as al-Khudhiri and Tunisia’s Issam Chaouali are a soundtrack to the action.Issam Chaouali is one of the Arab world’s most famous commentators. Photograph: Facebook“The language does more than heighten the drama, it somehow stretches time. A two-second sequence becomes a full paragraph. The anticipation becomes the thing you are consuming, not only the goal,” said Hazar al-Kilani, 27, a public relations manager based in Doha.Clips of football matches often go viral in the Arab world not…

The US military has conducted strikes on Iranian targets after President Donald Trump accused Iran of a "foolish violation" of its truce following an attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said it had struck missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions on Friday.It said the strikes were in response for a drone attack on a cargo ship on Thursday, an incident which halted a planned evacuation of thousands of sailors stuck in the region. Tehran said the cargo ship was attacked because it was using an unauthorised route to transit through the vital Gulf waterway.US Central Command - or Centcom - described the strikes as "a powerful response" to the drone attack a day earlier."The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire," it said in a statement. "Furthermore, Iran's dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor."Centcom said the US military would "continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait".But Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) blamed the "treaty-breaking US regime".It said in a statement the US had launched an airstrike on Iran's coast "under various pretexts of a ship violating an unauthorised route in the Strait of Hormuz".The IRGC said its navy had retaliated by striking US military positions in the region, without providing further details. The BBC contacted the Pentagon for comment."If the aggression is repeated our response will be more extensive than this," the IRGC added. Tehran effectively closed the strait after US and Israeli attacks against Iran began at the end of February.The shutdown of the critical waterway for oil and gas shipments caused a spike in global oil prices and choked off shipments of other crucial commodities…

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.President Trump on Friday called Iran’s attack on a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier a “foolish” act.Oil tankers and cargo vessels anchored off the coast of Oman this week.Credit...Elke Scholiers/Getty ImagesJune 26, 2026The U.S. military said it launched strikes on Iran on Friday in retaliation for an Iranian attack in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, hours after President Trump called the Iranian action a “foolish violation” of the fragile cease-fire between the two countries.U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it had struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites as a “powerful response” to the Iranian attack on Thursday.The extent of damage from the new U.S. strikes was not immediately clear. A U.S. defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly, described the strikes as a retaliatory measure and not a restart of major combat operations.The strikes on Friday concluded after about 90 minutes, a U.S. official said, and included strikes by American fighter jets against four Iranian sites along the Strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island, a U.S. official said.Iran’s security forces claimed that in response to the American attacks on Friday, Tehran had struck U.S. Army positions in the region. There was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. military of such strikes.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement carried by state media that the U.S. strikes had violated the cease-fire, and warned that if such aggression “is repeated, our response will be more extensive.”Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode…

NewsFeedThe US has struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites in retaliation for what it says was an Iranian attack on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The tit-for-tat has raised doubts about the stability of the US-Iran agreement, as Kimberly Halkett reports.Published On 27 Jun 2026

Iran’s IRGC says it targeted US military in region after Trump administration launched attack on the country.Video Duration 01 minutes 14 seconds 01:14US strikes on Iran test fragile ceasefire The United States has carried out strikes on Iran in what it says is a response to an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it targeted locations in the region where US forces are deployed in retaliation for the Trump administration’s latest attack.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with Israel and Lebanon’s Ambassadors announced a framework agreement Friday (June 26, 2026) that was described as a first step toward peace following months of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.The agreement does not include Hezbollah and prompted one of the group’s officials in Lebanon to warn of civil war. The U.S. State Department said the framework establishes a process for dismantling Hezbollah and for Lebanon to regain territory that was taken by Israeli forces as they battled the militant group.The US will facilitate a newly created “Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” to implement the framework, the State Department said, while committing $100 million in humanitarian assistance.“For Lebanon, this Framework provides a genuine pathway out of a long crisis,” the State Department said. “For Israel, it creates a verifiable path to removing the persistent threat on its northern border.” Friday’s (June 26, 2026) agreement was signed in front of Mr. Rubio in Washington by Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, the Lebanese ambassador to the United States.Mr. Leiter said the final destination of the framework is peace between the two countries.“Our language is we want to embrace Lebanon,” he said. “Our language is we want to get in our car in Tel Aviv and take a drive up to Beirut, and we want Beirut to come down and take a drive to Tel Aviv. That’s where we’re going. That’s where we want to go.” Mr. Leiter said that will depend on Hezbollah being disarmed and dismantled, which will allow Israel to withdraw and Lebanon to “regain its full sovereignty.”“So it really depends on the Lebanese army,” Mr. Leiter said. “It depends on the support the Lebanese army gets from the US. And we think…

Israel and Lebanon have signed a framework agreement in Washington after several days of negotiations brokered by the US.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agreement will begin to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security.It comes as limited fighting has continued between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, despite an existing ceasefire.Hezbollah is not party to Friday's agreement, and it is unclear whether it will agree to withdraw its fighters from the South Litani area in southern Lebanon.Washington has feared that ongoing tension between Israel and Hezbollah could undermine its peace deal with Iran, which includes a commitment to end fighting on "all fronts", including Lebanon.In the 14-point framework agreement, Israel and Lebanon both "affirm" the right of each state to "live in peace", and express "mutual desire to live in security as neighboring sovereign states". It makes specific note to a "cessation of all hostile or adverse actions in international political or legal fora" between Israel and Lebanon, with both nations pledging to work towards the release of detainees, as well as the return of any remains. However, both governments acknowledge that "nothing in this Framework prevents them from exercising their inherent right to defend themselves".The agreement says that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will restore effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory, "pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups and dismantlement of associated infrastructure".In order to achieve this, Lebanon makes a specific request for the support of international and "particularly Arab partners, under the leadership of the US".A US-supported military coordination group will also be established to help implement the framework.From a diplomatic perspective, the signing of some kind of an agreement is a step forward, but the situation on the ground in Lebanon has shown little sign of…

The US has struck Iran in a tit-for-tat response to a drone strike on a cargo ship, as the ceasefire between the US and Iran that reopened the strait of Hormuz undergoes its greatest test yet.The US strikes targeted multiple missile and drone facilities in Iran near the strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island on Friday in what appeared to be a limited strike meant to respond to Iran’s attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship without escalating the conflict.The US struck “Iranian missile and drone storage locations”, US Central Command (Centcom) said, in what it called a “powerful response” to the Iranian strike on the M/V Ever Lovely.But the US military said it would continue to enforce the shaky ceasefire with Iran even as disagreements have emerged over the terms of Iran’s nuclear programme, the question of tolls in the strait of Hormuz, and other thorny questions including Iran’s ballistic missiles programme.“The US military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect,” Centcom said.“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,” JD Vance, the US vice-president, wrote on social media after the strikes. “But violence will be met with violence.”Donald Trump said that Iran’s drone attack violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters “you’ll find out” whether the US would respond. The US president also called the attack a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire.“I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday, actually four of them,” Trump said shortly before the US strikes on Friday.Iranian state media, citing an unnamed military source, reported the strike at the port of Sirik…

LatestHere’s the latest.The U.S. military struck Iranian missile and drone sites on Friday night in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, jolting the fragile cease-fire between the countries.Hours before the U.S. strikes, President Trump called the Iranian action a “foolish violation” of the cease-fire agreement, which had aimed to end a war that had roiled world markets, reignited the conflict between Israel and Iran’s ally Hezbollah, and shaken the broader Middle East. The preliminary deal left the future of the strait unresolved, with U.S. officials declaring the critical waterway would once again be a free point of transit and Iran asserting its control there.The U.S. strikes on Friday targeting Iranian missile and drone targets concluded after about 90 minutes, a U.S. official said, and included strikes by American fighter jets against four Iranian sites along the Strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island, the official said.The cease-fire agreement between the countries was signed just 11 days ago and has led to the start of new negotiations over the strait, Iran’s nuclear program and other issues. Before the United States and Iran reached the preliminary deal, their forces would sometimes launch limited strikes but hold back from renewing all-out combat operations.The latest U.S. strikes on Friday targeted Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites, U.S. Central Command said in a statement, calling it a “powerful response” to the Iranian attack on Thursday. The extent of damage from the new U.S. strikes was not immediately clear.Mr. Trump said earlier on social media that Iran launched at least four one-way-attack drones on Thursday, one of which hit the upper deck “of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship,” adding that the United States had knocked down three other…

Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the US.One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship but the ship was able to proceed, the US president said. The US shot down three other drones aimed at the ship, he said.His post on social media did not identify the ship or the time of the strike, but on Thursday the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman.The development comes during a fragile time for the US and Iran as they work to negotiate a permanent end to the war. Iran has increasingly challenged the region and the US over its control of the strait of Hormuz, even with the current interim deal it reached with the US. last week.A missile warning in the United Arab Emirates caused by a technical glitch earlier on Friday underscored the ongoing tensions in the region, following the attack on the cargo vessel and Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past few days.The mobile phone alert startled many across the city-state of Dubai, the first such alert since the interim ceasefire.The brief text alert that was sent from the UAE’s interior ministry on Friday was also the first of its kind in Dubai during the Iran war. However, alerts have gone off in the region warning of incoming Iranian missiles and drones following the start of the war on 28 February, when the US and Iran launched their strikes on Iran.A short time after the alert, the Emiratis said there was a telephone call between the foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. It quoted…

The US struck Iran on Friday in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a provocation President Donald Trump said violated the ceasefire between the two countries.US Central Command said the military struck missile and drone sites, as well as coastal radar locations in Iran, shortly after Trump hinted at retaliation when asked whether Tehran would face consequences.“We’ll find out,” Trump told reporters. Asked whether he still considered the ceasefire to be in place, he said: “I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday … They shouldn’t be doing that.”Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in response to the attack that its retaliation would be “swift and decisive”, according to Iranian state TV.The US president had earlier blamed Iran for the attack, writing on social media that Tehran had “shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz”, with one hitting the upper deck of a cargo ship.“We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” he said.

Last month the US announced a new policy for the Western Balkans: henceforth its decisions are to be guided by the need to pursue “direct return” for American companies. This replaces the goal of “open-ended institution building”, which had been the essence of international policy since 1995’s Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).[1] But this announcement merely reflected what is already happening in the region under the second Trump administration. Politically connected Americans seek to earn money by weakening Dayton’s international institutions. They request the support of the US government, which it gladly provides. Each act of chipping away at those institutions creates yet more commercial opportunities. This behaviour undermines the peace that has held for 30 years. For Europeans, the need is thus simple: recognise that America is treating the Western Balkans as a playground of business opportunities that runs counter to European interests. Europeans must answer in kind by securing the power to veto US commercial deals to protect their interests. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Pipeline of deals The Trump administration’s policy of “direct return for US companies” is more a statement of existing practice. To illustrate: last year, the US lifted sanctions on a long-time Bosnian politician who had styled himself as pro-MAGA. This was not because he (it’s always a guy) had ceased his sanctionable activity, which includes lobbying campaigns that featured a single contract of $4m aiming at securing “the independence of Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.”[2] Soon after, the brother of a lobbyist who worked to lift those sanctions founded an American company which was promptly announced as owner of rights to build a new gas pipeline, the “Southern Interconnection”. The announcement followed intense lobbying of the administration, the company was the only bidder, and it has no experience in building or…

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Facing an emerging U.S.-Iran deal that leaves them vulnerable, Gulf Arab countries are reshaping their defense strategies, economies and trade routes.Omanis around Qaboos Port in Muscat, where oil tankers, carriers, vessels and Omani fishing boats were sitting anchored this month.Credit...Elke Scholiers/Getty ImagesVivian NereimVivian Nereim has lived in and reported from Gulf Arab countries for nearly 15 years.June 26, 2026For decades, people in the wealthy Gulf Arab nations watched the wars of the region unfold on their televisions. War happened to their neighbors — in Yemen, in Syria, in Gaza — but not to them.That illusion was shattered by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. It upended these countries’ sense of security, hobbled their energy-rich economies and pushed them to reconsider defense strategies. The American military bases on their soil — rather than shielding them from any harm — had made them the targets for thousands of Iranian missiles and drones. The fighting appears to be over, at least for now, and yet many in the Gulf countries worry that the deal emerging between the United States and Iran will do little to alleviate the threat that Iran poses to them, analysts say.In a tacit acknowledgment of the Gulf’s concerns, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with several of the region’s Arab leaders this week, seeking to reassure them. He told reporters in Kuwait on Wednesday that the United States was “not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies.” Yet with their vulnerabilities exposed, the Gulf countries have been forever changed by the war. Many are now intent on boosting their hard power, spending more on military hardware and defense. The new mood…

Live Blog Update| War on Iran 26 June 2026 06:05 BST US President Donald Trump told farmers on Thursday that unfrozen Iranian assets will be used to purchase American agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans and corn. "We're going to be taking some of their money, and we'll spend it." US President Donald Trump told farmers on Thursday that unfrozen Iranian assets will be used to purchase American agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans and corn pic.twitter.com/7ZH2EmAQRG — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 26, 2026

The United States is weighing changes to its military footprint in the Middle East, prompted primarily by Iranian attacks on its bases in the Gulf nations, according to a report. The Wall Street Journal reported that US officials are considering reducing the military footprint in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, while rebuilding the Bahrain naval base that had suffered extensive damage in Iranian strikes. The Pentagon has yet to disclose the damage publicly. One option under discussion is relocating some US bases and operations to Israel, the newspaper reported. The command headquarters and at least a dozen other buildings had been especially hit hard, the report added, citing serving and former US service members, analyses of satellite imagery and social-media footage.  This has prompted a reassessment of the vulnerability of American bases within range of Iranian missiles and drones.

US President Donald Trump said unfrozen Iranian assets will be used to purchase American agricultural products, including wheat, soybeans and corn, under the framework of the recent agreement with Tehran. "We're going to be taking some of their money," Trump said during an event with US farmers. "And we'll spend it, and we're going to be buying wheat, soy beans and corn – a lot of it. And that process is going to be starting pretty soon. It's going to be pretty big, too." Iranian officials have previously disputed that Tehran is obligated to use the released funds to buy US products. 

US President Donald Trump said Iran has "agreed to that 100%" when it comes to not possessing a nuclear weapon, adding that Washington is negotiating with Tehran "from a position of absolute strength" following the recent conflict. Trump also claimed the Strait of Hormuz remained open, saying a record 19 million barrels of oil transited the waterway on 23 June. He added that the US would use some released Iranian funds to purchase American wheat, soybeans and corn for Iran, and repeated claims that US forces had inflicted devastating damage on Iran's military. "Iran is very keen to make a deal with us and I think we might make a deal with them," he said, while dismissing reports suggesting Iran had emerged stronger as "fake news".

Much of Washington has greeted the Iran cease-fire deal with scorn. After more than three months of war, the United States and Israel failed to achieve many of their objectives, which included overthrowing the regime in Tehran and ending a potential Iranian nuclear threat.But when viewed from a broader perspective, the outcome looks different. The almost three-year-long regional conflict that started with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 and culminated in Operation Epic Fury this spring has put the United States and its partners in a far stronger position in the Middle East and left Iran much weaker. Iran’s proxy network of militant groups is largely in ruins; Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, one of Iran’s key partners, is gone; Tehran has been mostly ignored by its supposed allies in Beijing and Moscow; and Iran’s conventional forces, and much of its defense and nuclear industrial base, have been decimated. Iran’s sole victory from the latest round of conflict has come from its ability to close the Strait of Hormuz and cause economic damage across the world. But closing the strait also harms Iran itself, and the impact of a closure is likely to weaken over time as countries seek alternative suppliers, substitutes for oil, and new shipping routes to avoid the strait.This is not to say that the war was perfectly executed or that it has gone according to plan. But the cumulative effect of three years’ worth of efforts to defang a dangerous and threatening regime in Iran has left the United States in a strong position to solidify its gains. The memorandum of understanding to end the war opens the door to direct U.S.-Iranian talks, which could further stabilize the region. The memorandum’s limits on Iran’s nuclear program are vague for now, but the United States’ ability to…