Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday in response to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, raising fears that a fragile cease-fire could collapse after weeks of intense regional conflict.
The United States and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the agreement, and world leaders expressed relief, even as more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries. Israel also intensified its attacks in Lebanon, hitting several commercial and residential areas in Beirut without warning. Over 250 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in one of the deadliest days in Israel's attacks.
The fresh violence threatened to scuttle what U.S. Vice President JD Vance called a "fragile” deal.
"Aggression towards Lebanon is aggression towards Iran,” Gen. Seyed Majid Mousavi, aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, wrote on X. He warned that Iranian forces were preparing a "heavy response” without revealing details.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said American and Israeli forces had achieved a "capital V military victory” and that the Iranian military no longer posed a significant threat to U.S. forces or the region. The Iranian military said the country forced Israel and the U.S. to accept its "proposed conditions and surrender.”
