US Strikes Hit Iran In 1st Post-MOU Incident, As Israel-Lebanon Framework Agreement Trigger Protests In Beirut

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted airstrikes on Friday, against Iranian missile and drone storage facilities and coastal radar sites near Sirik, marking the first kinetic U.S. response since the June 19 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The strikes were a direct retaliation for an Iranian one-way attack drone strike on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely on Thursday, June 25, which damaged the vessel's upper deck as it transited the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast. Reports indicate that Iranian naval forces also fired warning shots and missiles at vessels deemed to be using unauthorized routes, highlighting the volatility of the security situation in the critical energy corridor.

CENTCOM declared the attack a "clear violation" of the ceasefire, asserting that Iran's actions undermined freedom of navigation in the vital trade corridor.

President Donald Trump characterized the drone assault as a "foolish violation" of the agreement, confirming that Iran launched four drones, three of which were intercepted while one successfully hit the ship. Vice President JD Vance responded on the social platform X with the statement: "Violence will be met with violence. If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone."

Vance emphasized that the U.S. would not tolerate breaches of the deal, which was intended to open the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic and constrain Iran's nuclear program.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have repelled the U.S. attack and threatened "swift and decisive" countermeasures against further aggression. Within hours, the IRGC said its forces have retaliated with attacks on locations hosting the US military in the region.

Diplomatic tensions escalated following a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Gulf, where he issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) demanding "free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation" through the Strait of Hormuz without tolls.

Iran's foreign ministry immediately protested this stance, asserting that the strait should be governed jointly by Iran and Oman, and rejecting external attempts to assert control over the waterway. This dispute over transit fees and sovereignty occurred despite ongoing peace negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, which had recently established a roadmap for a final deal.

Israel-Lebanon Framework Agreement Trigger Protests In Beirut

The latest escalation coincided with a separate US-brokered framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, announce in Washington D.C., Friday, marking a highly contentious first step aimed at winding down the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad signed the trilateral text at the U.S. State Department, witnessed by Rubio.

The agreement establishes a newly created "Military Coordination Group for Lebanon" (MCG4L), facilitated by the United States, to oversee the implementation. Alongside the framework, the U.S. announced an immediate $100 million humanitarian assistance package for Lebanon.

The agreement does not outline an immediate, full Israeli withdrawal. Instead, it relies on a phased, benchmark-driven mechanism. Israel has agreed to a minor pullback of its forces from two specific "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon—identified as Zoetir East and Zoetir West. Control of these areas will be gradually handed over to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

Further Israeli withdrawals are not bound to a fixed timetable. Instead, they are strictly tied to measurable benchmarks of the Lebanese army successfully disarming and dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure in those areas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement tempering expectations of a major withdrawal. He emphasized that Israel will strictly maintain its original "security zone" (buffer zone) to keep its northern towns out of range of Hezbollah anti-tank missiles. The Prime Minister's Office added that the IDF maintains "freedom of military action throughout the security zone to eliminate threats of any kind."

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Ambassador Moawad defended the framework, framing it as a vital "first step" toward restoring full Lebanese sovereignty, securing a permanent cessation of hostilities, and forcing an ultimate, comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territories.

Because the framework explicitly targets the disarmament of Hezbollah and was negotiated entirely without their involvement, it triggered immediate, explosive pushback in Lebanon

Hours after the announcement—which coincided with the religious peak of Ashura—thousands of Hezbollah and Shiite ally supporters took to the streets of Beirut. Convoys of men on motorcycles waved flags and rode through central areas near the parliament and along the main airport highway, protesting what they view as a formalization of Israeli occupation.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah issued a stark warning, stating that Lebanese authorities "will not be able to enforce the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war." Hezbollah officials also slammed the deal as a deliberate attempt to derail the separate "Islamabad process"--the ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations.