US-Iran tensions flare over the vital Strait of Hormuz

Throughout the day, we’ve been covering the latest test for a tenuous ceasefire agreement signed earlier this month by Washington and Tehran, including recent strikes around the Strait of Hormuz.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a breakdown:

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Tensions flare over Strait of Hormuz

The US and Iran exchanged strikes as tensions flare over the vital Strait of Hormuz. CNN's Julia Benbrook breaks down what it means for the ceasefire.

1:26 • Source: CNN

Tensions flare over Strait of Hormuz

1:26

Hezbollah’s main political ally in Lebanon rejected the newly signed agreement with Israel, calling it “unbalanced.”

The Amal movement, which supports Hezbollah, said in a statement on Saturday evening that it rejected direct negotiations with Israel. Amal said that it “entrenches realities in favor of the enemy at the expense of the national interest.”

The Amal movement said the agreement “carries political and sovereign risks and cannot be accepted.”

After the signing of the agreement on Friday, Hassan Fadallah, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, rejected the agreement, calling on the country to “retract these negotiations and all the decisions they have made against their people.”

The Islamic Group of Lebanon, a Sunni Islamist political and armed organization, also rejected the agreement.

The group, a former affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, argued that the agreement should include several measures, including “the preservation of full sovereignty” and “guaranteeing the Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories.”

In his first press conference since the announcement of an agreement with Lebanon and the US, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed a map detailing two areas from which the Israeli military will withdraw under the deal.

In his first press conference since the announcement of an agreement with Lebanon and the US, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed a map detailing two areas from which the Israeli military will withdraw under the deal.

The two sites represent relatively small areas in southern Lebanon along the so-called “yellow line,” which delineates Israeli-occupied territory. In a statement on Friday evening, Netanyahu said one of the areas would be north of the line, while the second would be south of it. Both areas in the vicinity of the Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, which has been the focus of fighting recently.

Netanyahu called the deal signed with Lebanon under the auspices of the Trump administration a “tremendous achievement” that forced Iran out of the picture.

“We are breaking the Iranian axis - the axis of Iranian terror - but we are also breaking Iran’s political axis,” he said. Netanyahu also asserted that Israel will continue to occupy a broader security zone in southern Lebanon.

But even as Netanyahu celebrated the agreement, his far-right coalition partner, Itamar Ben Gvir, called it a “big mistake.” In a statement on Saturday evening, he said he had requested a cabinet vote on the agreement. “The State of Lebanon will not disarm Hezbollah, members of the Lebanese government are Hezbollah ministers, and Lebanon cannot be trusted to take Hezbollah’s weapons,” he said.

Israeli airstrikes hit the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa on Saturday evening, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The attacks killed one person and wounded two others, the country’s health ministry said.

Though Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement on Friday, attacks have continued.

Cargo ships are seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, on March 11.

“If any vessel attempts to transit in the Strait without our permission … or outside of the designated route, it is responsible for any consequences.”

The warning was broadcast on Thursday by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil chokepoint which is emerging as one of the biggest tests of the initial agreement between Iran and the United States to end their war.

Just hours later, the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely was struck by an Iranian drone, a US official told CNN. The attack, the first on a vessel since the pact was signed, was described by US President Donald Trump as a “foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.”

In retaliation, the US military conducted strikes Friday against Iranian military targets around the strait. The next day, Iran said it, in turn, had targeted US military positions in the region. A US official told CNN that Iranian drones were detected but did not reach their targets.

Earlier Saturday, maritime authorities also said a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an “unidentified projectile” — highlighting yet again the unsettled nature of safety in the strait.

The ceasefire agreement stipulates that Iran will make “arrangements using its best efforts” to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Ensuring unobstructed transit was Iran’s main concession to the US.

But for Iran, reopening the strait does not mean relinquishing control of it. A vaguely worded article in the agreement said Iran and Oman would work together to “define the future administration” of the waterway, effectively giving Tehran a formal role in managing it.

Read more here on the state of play in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US “detected a couple drones” as Iran said it had launched strikes on American military targets in the Middle East, but those drones did not reach their targets, a US official told CNN Saturday.

Iran had said it had struck the targets in response to US strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, per Iranian state media Press TV, as tensions over the key waterway have strained a peace deal between the two nations.

The latest escalation in the Middle East began with an Iranian attack on Thursday against a commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz, which US President Donald Trump described as a “foolish violation” of the initial agreement to end the war.

The US military then conducted strikes on Friday against Iranian military targets around the Strait of Hormuz. “US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites,” CENTCOM said. “The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire.”

That was followed by Tehran’s announcement that it launched strikes on US military targets on Saturday. The US military “detected a couple drones” but no assets were hit, a US official told CNN.

Earlier Saturday, Bahrain had reported Iranian drone attacks on its territory, which hosts a US military base. And a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an “unidentified projectile,” according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which said the vessel sustained damage but all crew members were uninjured.

Big picture: A US official previously played down the prospect of escalation following recent strikes in the region, telling CNN they do not reflect a return to major combat operations — at least for now.

This post has been updated with additional developments from the region.

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter (L), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C, back), State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler (front C) and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh (front R) at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, on June 26. Lebanon, Israel and the United States on Friday signed a trilateral framework agreement aimed at paving the way for a peace deal between the Middle East adversaries.

Israel’s military carried out a drone attack in southern Lebanon Saturday, a day after agreeing to withdraw some troops from the region, highlighting the fragility of a ceasefire between the two countries.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official told CNN the strike was aimed at eliminating a threat to its troops.

The attack underscores the challenges that remain in securing an enduring peace agreement in Lebanon, where the IDF has been waging a sustained war against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, further complicating peace talks between Washington and Tehran.

Under a US-brokered deal, Israel has agreed to withdraw troops from areas north and south of the Litani River, transferring the sites to the Lebanese military. Both Lebanon and Israel framed the agreement as a first step, with each claiming victory for their respective countries.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has rejected the deal. In a lengthy statement Saturday, the group’s Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said the agreement was “a squandering of Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

Eyad Kourdi and Eugenia Yosef contributed reporting to this post.

Vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on June 19.

This week’s developments mark the latest in a series of back-and-forth strikes centered around the Strait of Hormuz, casting uncertainty over the US-Iran agreement signed earlier this month, which stipulates the gradual restoration of normal marine traffic.

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), which is overseen by the US Navy, raised the threat level in the strait to “substantial” on Saturday, a step it said it took following attacks on merchant vessels.

Meanwhile, a route through the Strait of Hormuz near Oman has been expanded to allow for greater passage of marine traffic in both directions, the JMIC said, suggesting the US is pushing back at Iran’s control over the waterway.

Iran’s reported attacks on US military targets in the Middle East come after US strikes around the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.

US Central Command has released video of the Friday strikes, which it said targeted Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites.