U.S. Iran Trade Attacks over The Straights

 

In Tehran this month.Credit...Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

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Aaron BoxermanEuan WardYan Zhuang and John Ismay

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Iran and the United States traded new attacks and threats on Sunday, the fourth straight day of hostilities, with little sign of a de-escalation that would get their two-week-old cease-fire back on track.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement carried by Iranian state media that it had targeted a U.S. naval base in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait in retaliation for American attacks.

The governments of Kuwait and Bahrain said the attacks had not caused any casualties. There were also no reports of American casualties or of major impact or damage to U.S. assets, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations.

But the persistent attacks further eroded hopes for a speedy return to normalcy in the Middle East after the initial truce that the United States and Iran agreed to this month.

The new hostilities began on Thursday, when Iran fired attack drones at a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials. American forces responded with a wave of attacks on Friday, prompting drone strikes on Saturday on another ship and on Bahrain, a U.S. ally, that were widely blamed on Iran.

Iranian officials have not claimed responsibility for attacking ships in the strait, which Tehran was supposed to fully reopen as part of the cease-fire. But the attack came hours after Iran had warned ships that they could only travel through its waters; many had been using an alternate route along the coast of nearby Oman.

Iran argues that the agreement gives it substantial authority to control the waterway, which has served as a key source of Iranian leverage in the negotiations with the United States.

The U.S. military said that its latest attacks had hit air-defense sites and other military infrastructure. Iran’s state broadcaster reported explosions in three cities near the strait, and a U.S. official said that the U.S. airstrikes were more expansive than the previous day’s.

The United States and Iran have ramped up their rhetoric in recent days, accusing each other of violating the cease-fire. While both seem to be testing each other’s red lines and making threats, analysts say, neither seems eager to return to a full-blown war.

On Saturday, President Trump said in a bellicose message on social media that the United States would annihilate Iran if it were forced to return to war. The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Sunday that American bases in the region “will be experiencing hell during these days.”

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Strait of Hormuz: Strikes on ships are likely to deter vessels from passing through the waterway, which Iran had agreed to fully reopen as part of the cease-fire with the United States. Read more ›

• Lebanon fighting: The Israeli military said on Sunday that a soldier was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are battling with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The Trump administration’s cease-fire with Iran was supposed to include an end to the fighting in Lebanon, but clashes there have continued. Israeli forces conducted strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanese state media.

June 28, 2026, 7:15 a.m. ET3 hours ago

Sanam Mahoozi

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Sunday that the country was solely responsible for managing the Strait of Hormuz under the preliminary agreement it signed with the United States this month, and warned against “interference” in managing routes through the waterway. Some ships have been traveling along a southern route in the strait near the Omani coast that bypasses Iranian waters, but Iran has warned that ships must transit via parts of the waterway that it controls.

“Under the memorandum of understanding, no other entity or country has any responsibility in this regard,” Araghchi said at a news conference in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, adding that other arrangement would add to tensions and could delay the full reopening of the waterway.

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Credit...Hadi Mizban/Associated Press

June 28, 2026, 5:52 a.m. ET5 hours ago

Aaron Boxerman

Reporting from Tel Aviv

The Israeli military said on Sunday that a soldier was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are battling with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group. The Trump administration’s cease-fire with Iran was supposed to include an end to the fighting in Lebanon, but clashes there have continued. Israeli forces conducted strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanese state media.

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Credit...Ohad Zwigenberg/Associated Press

June 28, 2026, 5:53 a.m. ET5 hours ago

Aaron Boxerman

Reporting from Tel Aviv

According to Lebanese officials, more than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon since Hezbollah attacked Israel in solidarity with Iran in March, prompting sweeping Israeli military retaliation. Late last week, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a U.S.-backed deal that would see Israeli forces gradually withdraw from territory they occupy in southern Lebanon. In exchange, the Lebanese government would crack down on Hezbollah, which was not party to the talks and has rejected the agreement.