US and Iran trade strikes, putting new strain on Mideast ceasefire
An Iranian woman waves a national flag under a billboard depicting slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Valiasr Square in Tehran on June 15, 2026.(AFP)
The United States and Iran traded military strikes after Washington on June 27 accused Tehran of attacking a cargo ship, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire as diplomats struggle to contain the Middle East war.
U.S. Central Command said the American strikes, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, were a response to "unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces" that "clearly violated the ceasefire."
It described the operation as "a powerful response to yesterday's attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz."
