The US and Iran have exchanged strikes for the first time since signing an interim peace framework on June 17.
On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces had struck missile, drone and radar sites in Iran in response to a drone attack on the Singaporean-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely the previous day. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had retaliated by firing at American bases in the region.
Both sides accused each other of violating the memorandum of understanding signed last week. The hostilities come as Iran and the US clash over differing interpretations of the agreement regarding the administration of the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, and Iran’s frozen assets.
Protests also broke out in Beirut after the Lebanese government signed an agreement with Israel and the US in Washington. Hezbollah rejected the deal, demanding that Israel completely withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah officials warned that attempts to enforce the agreement could lead to civil war.
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27 June 2026
The US State Department said the Pentagon would reimburse the Lebanese army more than $30 million “under existing authorities and appropriations.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the agreement as “the first step” toward ending hostilities in Lebanon. He added that residents of northern Israel must be safe from “terrorist attacks launched from Lebanese territory.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) released footage of the strikes in Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the deal with Lebanon as “a major blow to Iran.”
“Iran is trying to force us to withdraw from southern Lebanon. In essence, Israel, Lebanon and the United States are telling Iran: It is none of your business,” Netanyahu said, according to the Times of Israel. He added that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would maintain a buffer zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah disarms.
Netanyahu said that both “pilot zones” described in the agreement had been chosen by the IDF, with one located south of the Litani River and the other north of it.
Hassan Fadlallah, a senior Hezbollah MP, told Al Mayadeen that the Lebanese government lacked the mandate to enforce the agreement.
He accused the US of using the deal to derail the negotiations with Iran, which had demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon and end airstrikes in the country.
Hezbollah “will not allow the authorities to destroy Lebanon,” the MP said.
The group rejected the call to disarm and earlier called on the government to abandon negotiations with Israel and the US under existing terms.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid shared the text of the deal signed by the US, Israel and Lebanon in Washington.
- Israel and Lebanon affirm each other’s right to exist in peace and security.
- The Lebanese army will restore control over all of Lebanon pending the “verified disarmament of non-state armed groups,” referring to Hezbollah.
- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will gradually withdraw from Lebanon once the Lebanese army takes full control of “pilot zones,” following confirmation that non-state armed groups in those areas have been disarmed. Israel and Lebanon have agreed on the first two such zones, with more to be established in the future.
- Israel affirms that its military operations are aimed only at fighting Hezbollah and that it “has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.”
US Vice President J.D. Vance accused Iran of violating the memorandum of understanding (MoU).
“If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,” he wrote on X.
Shortly after the US strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck American military sites in the region.
While not directly mentioning the drone attack on the Ever Lovely, the IRGC said the ship had used an “unauthorized route” while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC said the memorandum of understanding signed last week affirmed Iran’s authority to control traffic in the strategic waterway.
Protesters waving the flags of Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran have taken to the streets of Beirut to denounce the deal, which the pro-Palestinian armed group says gives Israel greater freedom to continue its occupation of southern Lebanon.