The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has suffered its most serious rupture, with both sides exchanging direct military strikes near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
In the early hours today, the US military shot down four Iranian attack drones that were threatening American forces and commercial shipping in the waterway and struck an Iranian ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth drone. US CENTCOM described the actions as “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire”. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged the US strikes near Bandar Abbas and said it had retaliated by targeting an American military base, though the IRGC did not specify the base’s location.
The exchange dealt a sharp blow to diplomatic efforts still underway between Washington and Tehran. Just four days ago, President Donald Trump said a deal to extend the existing truce by 60 days was close to being finalised. The White House, however, dismissed an Iranian state media claim of a draft framework agreement as a “complete fabrication”, further clouding prospects for a negotiated pause.
The US-Iran ceasefire, already under severe strain, has effectively collapsed into direct military confrontation near the Strait of Hormuz. American forces shot down four Iranian attack drones targeting commercial shipping and destroyed a launch site in Bandar Abbas that was seconds away from firing a fifth, as reported by US CENTCOM. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by claiming strikes on a US military base. Kuwait’s air defences have also been active, intercepting hostile missile and drone threats.
Meanwhile, the crisis is rippling outward. In Lebanon, the Israeli military has issued its largest evacuation order since a separate ceasefire took hold in April, ordering all civilians south of the Zahrani River, roughly 40 kilometres from the Israeli border, to move northward immediately. Israel’s military declared the entire zone a combat area and warned it would act with extreme force against Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that strikes on Tuesday alone killed 31 people, including at least four children and three women, while 40 others were wounded in towns including Burj al-Shamali near Tyre, Maarakeh, Habboush, and Salaa. One strike hit near a public hospital in Nabatieh, causing significant structural damage. Hezbollah, for its part, confirmed that its fighters had clashed with Israeli troops and said it was responding to what it described as Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
The Doha peace talks, currently underway, aim to end the 2026 Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz through a proposed 60-day phased ceasefire. However, negotiations have stalled as Iran demands the upfront release of 12 billion dollars in frozen assets, while the United States insists on immediate nuclear concessions.
