Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
US strikes come after ships struck by drones in Strait of Hormuz
Removed from bookmarks
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday evening to warn that Iran ‘will no longer exist’ if Tehran keeps breaking the ceasefire.
Trump’s latest threat came after the U.S. launched fresh strikes on Saturday on Iranian missile and drone locations and radar sites “ for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN.“
US Central Command said strikes were launched “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.”
Iran earlier said it had struck targets linked to US forces, as each side continued to accuse the other of violating last week’s agreement meant to end the four-month-old war.
Tehran’s foreign ministry did not identify the locations of its “defensive” attacks, which it said were a response to US strikes on its coastal surveillance facilities.
The US military had carried out strikes on Iranian missile and drone storage sites in the wake of Donald Trump accusing the country of a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement, claiming Tehran fired at least four kamikaze drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Saturday that the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement signed in Washington is “null”, a “humiliation” and a surrender of sovereignty, and should be replaced by the Iran-US memorandum.
Qassem said in a statement that any attempt to link Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon to the group’s disarmament crossed “red lines.”
Though jet fuel prices have fallen more than 40 percent from February, American consumers aren’t feeling much relief from airfare prices that jumped because of costs connected to the US- Iran war.
Airfares booked from the last week of June through the end of August are 15 percent higher than they were in 2025, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing figures from airfare tracker Going. Through March 30, the average price of a domestic ticket in the United States was $428 – $19 higher than the average at the end of 2025, and the second-highest average fare since September 2022, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Demand has kept prices high, as airlines typically won’t lower their prices if passengers are willing to pay higher ones, said Atmosphere Research Group Airline Industry Analyst Henry Harteveldt.
“The house always wins,” Harteveldt told Bloomberg. “If the marketplace isn’t demanding that an airline reduces its fares to the very lowest levels it was charging before, airlines aren’t going to lower those fares.”
Read more below.
Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday evening to warn that Iran ‘will no longer exist’ if Tehran keeps breaking the ceasefire.
Trump’s latest threat came after the U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iranian missile and drone locations and radar sites “ for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN.“
“It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
The US military said it struck Iran again, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, in the worst escalation since the two sides signed an interim peace deal two weeks ago.
Each of the warring sides has accused the other of violating the agreement reached two weeks ago to end the four-month-old conflict.
US Central Command said on Saturday its forces carried out fresh strikes after a Panama-flagged tanker was attacked by an Iranian drone early on Saturday. In Iran, state broadcaster IRIB said early Sunday local time that explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing further details.
“Iran was given a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,” US Central Command said in a statement.
It said the strikes were “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping” and targeted Iranian military surveillance, communications, air defence, drone storage and mine-laying facilities.
A US defence official later reported that the strikes on Iranian targets were complete, according to Fox News.
Washington said earlier that it hit Iranian targets overnight. Iran said it responded on Saturday by striking targets linked to US forces.
Saturday’s attack on a tanker in the strait followed another on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latest escalation.
Iran has made a fresh bid to assert control over the world’s most important energy shipping route, which has begun to reopen after months of disruption.
Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker hit on Saturday had sustained damage to its bridge, with all crew reported safe. The Joint Maritime Information Centre, run by a coalition of navies protecting shipping, raised its security threat level as a result of recent incidents.
Iran has not directly commented on reports of specific attacks on ships.
But Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards fired “warning shots” toward unspecified vessels attempting to pass through channels not approved by Iran, and that this was now prompting other ships to seek Iranian permits before attempting to cross the strait.
Earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry said it launched “defensive” attacks on US-linked military targets, while Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s regional headquarters, reported an Iranian drone attack.
The US military did not immediately respond to the reports.
JD Vance said the US has adhered to the ceasefire deal, also known as a memorandum of understanding.
“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone. But violence will be met with violence,” the vice president said on X.
Before the renewed outbreak of violence, oil prices fell about 3 per cent on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses as oil tankers have exited the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Aramco resumed crude loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil port, after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data showed.
Fertilizer shipments through the strait have also picked up, helping to assuage concerns about a spike in global food prices.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio — wrapping up a tour of the Gulf to reassure regional allies about the interim pact — issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council calling for “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation” in the strait without tolls or “attempts to assert control.”
Iran’s foreign ministry said the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman, while Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned Washington’s Gulf allies their survival depended on Tehran’s tolerance.
US Central Command said in a statement: “U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted additional strikes against multiple targets in Iran, June 27, at the Commander in Chief’s direction.
“After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET. The Panama-flagged tanker was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz with more than two-million barrels of crude oil.
“CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
The United States is carrying out strikes in the area of Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported on Saturday, citing one US official.
Iran said it struck targets linked to US forces on Saturday in response to US airstrikes on its southern coast, as each side continued to accuse the other of violating last week’s agreement meant to end the four-month-old war.
Iran’s foreign ministry did not identify the locations of its “defensive” attacks, which it said were a response to “the barbaric air strikes” by the US on its coastal surveillance facilities, which it said also violated the U.N. Charter.
Later, Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, condemned what it said was an Iranian drone attack on its territory as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a threat to its security, adding that it reserved the right to defend itself.
Washington did not immediately respond to Iran’s report of striking American targets, a tactic that has sought to undermine U.S. allies in the region during the conflict.
The US military said its strikes on Friday had been a response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to global energy supplies.
Israel struck southern Lebanon on Saturday, a day after the two countries signed a US-brokered security arrangement aimed at easing tensions along their border after months of hostilities.
Lebanon’s state news agency said an Israeli drone struck in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which lies outside a security zone shown on a map published by Israel of an expanded zone its troops control in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military told Reuters it had carried out the strike, using a drone as no Israeli troops were in the immediate area. It said it targeted an individual who posed a threat to its forces, without providing further details or evidence.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Leave a Reply