West Asia Conflict LIVE: US and Iran Trade Air Strikes, Testing Fragile Truce

Supporters of Hezbollah held demonstrations in the capital city of Beirut late on Friday (June 26, 2026) to voice their opposition to a newly announced pact between Lebanon and Israel, according to state media reports and an AFP journalist on the ground. The National News Agency, run by the state, stated that loyalists of Hezbollah navigated motorbikes across the streets of Beirut, moving through a central district close to the parliament building and along a highway connected to the airport. They were demonstrating against the newly declared framework pact between Israel and Lebanon, and even obstructed at least one route by setting tyres on fire. An AFP reporter observed individuals riding motorbikes while shouting slogans on a street, as the Lebanese military established temporary security checkpoints at various locations across the capital.

US Vice President J.D. Vance declared on Friday (June 26, 2026) that force would be answered with force, following American military strikes on Iran. The strikes were launched after an assault on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on the social media platform X, Mr. Vance remarked that if there are any objections regarding the implementation of the MOU, they have the option to call.

The Revolutionary Guards of Iran stated on Saturday (June 27, 2026) that they launched attacks against American positions within the Gulf area to avenge the US strikes inside Iranian territory, state television reported. Earlier, the United States military had made public that it hit specific sites in Iran as a reaction to an offensive on a commercial boat in the Strait of Hormuz, blaming Tehran for the incident. In a message shared by the state broadcaster on Telegram, the Guards warned that should this hostility occur again, their reaction would be even more extensive.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon to the United States on Friday (June 26, 2026) to declare a framework accord. This deal is characterized as an initial move toward ending the hostilities that have raged for months between Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah. This newly reached agreement excludes Hezbollah, leading a representative of the group in Lebanon to issue a warning about potential civil conflict. According to the US State Department, the framework outlines a procedure to disarm Hezbollah and allows Lebanon to reclaim lands seized by the Israeli military during its operations against the armed group. To put this framework into action, the State Department noted that the US will oversee a newly formed "Military Coordination Group for Lebanon", while also pledging $100 million in aid for humanitarian purposes.

American military assets targeted drone and missile depots as well as coastal radar installations in Iran on Friday (June 26, 2026). This action came after Washington pointed fingers at Tehran for an assault on a merchant vessel, throwing a delicate truce into disarray even as diplomatic efforts continued to prevent the conflict in West Asia from spreading. According to US Central Command, the military strikes were conducted in retaliation to unprovoked hostile acts against commercial vessels by Iranian units, which directly breached the terms of the truce. The command characterized the military operation as a robust counteraction to the previous day's attack on a cargo vessel navigating through the Strait of Hormuz.