US, Iran test each other’s red lines in new fighting

International US, Iran test each other’s red lines in new fighting Comments: by Sarah Davis - 06/27/26 1:06 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 06/27/26 1:06 PM ET Comments: Link copied

NOW PLAYING

The delicate ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was put to the test on Friday when the U.S. military reopened strikes against the Middle Eastern nation over an alleged infringement of the agreement’s terms.

President Trump called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s attack on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz a “foolish violation” of the 60-day truce. The U.S. military said it conducted strikes against Iran’s coastal radar locations and missile and drone storage sites on Friday.

Tehran responded early Saturday morning with a drone strike on Bahrain, which houses the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

Before the ceasefire agreement, Iran regularly struck U.S. bases in the Middle East. However, the U.S. and Iran had agreed to halt fighting during peace deal negotiations led by Vice President Vance and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The speaker of Bahrain’s Council of Representatives, Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam, “strongly condemned” Iran’s attack on Bahrain and called it a “flagrant violation” of the country’s sovereignty in a statement published by Bahrain News Agency.

Additionally, the British Navy’s shipping monitor reported later that morning that a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by an “unidentified projectile.” The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said that all crew had been reported safe following this incident and that the ship’s bridge sustained damage.

Vance defended the U.S. military’s strikes on Iran in a Friday statement shared on social media.

“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it,” Vance wrote. “If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence.”

In an interview with comedian Bill Maher late Friday, he also defended the administration’s strategy in the Islamic Republic, even if a long-term deal is not reached.

Both the U.S. and Iran claimed victory after the signing of a memorandum of understanding earlier this month, but they have offered differing information on the implications of this deal.

Trump said in a Truth Social post this week following the initial round of peace deal talks that Tehran “fully and completely agreed” to future inspections at its nuclear facilities.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei disputed the president’s statement, telling state media on Tuesday that the country had no plans to allow inspectors into Iran and that no meeting has been scheduled with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“No protocol exists in this regard,” Baghaei told state media.

Tensions over the terms of an Iranian nuclear agreement, control of the Strait of Hormuz and turmoil between Israel and an Iran-backed Hezbollah have endangered the strength of the ceasefire.

Iran threatened to again restrict the Strait of Hormuz following the strikes in Lebanon.

After Beirut agreed to the terms of a U.S.-backed framework agreement with Israel on Friday, Hezbollah’s leader declared the deal “null and void.” It calls for the disarmament of the Iran-backed militia.

“The framework agreement in Washington is a humiliation, a disgrace, and a surrender of sovereignty,” Naim Qassem said in a statement about this deal reported by Hezbollah-aligned media outlet Al Mayadeen.