The United States and Iran traded military strikes on Friday after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, straining a fragile Mideast ceasefire.

US Central Command said its strikes hit Iranian missile and drone sites after what it called a violation of the truce.


What is going on between the US and Iran now?

The US and Iran exchanged strikes after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command hit Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they retaliated against US sites in the Gulf region.

US Central Command described the operation as a response to "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces" that "clearly violated the ceasefire." It called the strikes "a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz."

Iranian state television, citing a reporter in Sirik, said an explosion was heard late Friday at Taherouyeh pier in the southern port city. The broadcaster quoted an informed military source as saying the blast was caused by a projectile impact in the area.

Why is Trump attacking Iran now?

President Donald Trump had earlier denounced what he described as an Iranian drone strike on the vessel, calling it "a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement." Vice President JD Vance warned on X that "violence will be met with violence" if Iran launched further attacks.

Minutes later, on Saturday morning Iran time, state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted US sites in the Gulf in retaliation for the American strikes. "If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this," the Guards said in a post on state TV's Telegram channel.

The exchanges raised fresh questions about keeping the Strait of Hormuz open while Washington and Tehran negotiate a final settlement to a war that began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran has warned vessels not to enter or leave the Gulf through the strait without permission, though ships have continued moving, some using a route Tehran has not authorized.

How is the Strait of Hormuz dispute affecting shipping and oil prices?

Around half of the 42 vessels that made the passage Thursday used a non-approved southern route along Oman's coast, according to tracking platform Kpler. The UN's maritime agency said an evacuation operation had freed 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers trapped by the dispute before the latest attack forced its suspension.

Oil prices fell sharply despite the flare-up, reflecting hopes that traffic through Hormuz, a strategic waterway that normally carries around a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports, would keep recovering.

What is the new Israel-Lebanon framework agreement?

Israel and Lebanon hailed an agreement signed with the US to pave the way toward peace on their front in the war, although Iran-backed Hezbollah warned the deal would thwart plans to resolve the broader conflict. At a Washington signing ceremony, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the trilateral accord "begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security," adding, "It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the framework as a victory against Iran, which argues the Lebanon front cannot be separated from the wider war. "Iran has been trying to force us to withdraw from southern Lebanon through pressure but, in effect, Israel, Lebanon, and the United States are telling them: this is none of your business," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said the agreement would let the Lebanese army return to two "pilot areas" in southern Lebanon, though Israeli forces would stay in their security zone until Hezbollah disarms. Displaced civilians would be barred from returning in the meantime. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the unpublished framework a "first step" toward civilians returning home "under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state."

Hezbollah supporters protested the agreement in Beirut late Friday. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the Washington signing sought to undercut the US-Iran ceasefire, which he argued envisioned Lebanon being settled through the wider peace process, warning the government could not impose the deal "unless they go, with American support, to civil war."

What safeguards does Iran's nuclear program need under a settlement?

The UN nuclear watchdog's chief warned that any final US-Iran settlement would need strong safeguards to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. Iran's nuclear program remains a central sticking point, with Tehran and Washington giving conflicting accounts of whether inspectors will regain access to its facilities.

"The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said of developing nuclear weapons. "But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place, as soon as is practicable."

The interim agreement says Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, estimated pre-war at 440 kilograms (970 pounds) and enriched to 60 percent, should be "downblended" under IAEA supervision.