The US military launched airstrikes against Iranian missile and drone storage facilities on June 26, hitting four separate sites in southern Iran. The strikes, carried out by six aircraft under US Central Command, targeted coastal radar installations and weapons depots near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most strategically sensitive waterways on earth.
The Pentagon framed the operation as a direct response to a drone attack on the cargo ship Ever Lovely, which occurred just one day earlier on June 25. President Trump called Iran’s actions a “foolish violation” of a ceasefire agreement that had been in place for barely a week.
A ceasefire that never really held
The US and Iran reportedly reached an interim deal around June 18-19, a fragile arrangement meant to pause a cycle of escalating military provocations that had defined the first half of 2026. That ceasefire lasted roughly a week before the Ever Lovely incident.
Iran, for its part, has characterized the US strikes as a gross breach of the truce.
