US, Iran trade fresh attacks that put ceasefire under strain

Arsalan Shahla and Sara Gharaibeh, Bloomberg News on Jun 28, 2026

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The U.S. and Iran traded attacks targeting each other’s military infrastructure, signaling no letup in several days of escalation that are straining a ceasefire underpinning peace talks.

In the latest barrage on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missiles and drones at the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the 5th Fleet naval base in Salman Port, Bahrain.

Kuwait said it intercepted two missiles and there was no material damage or injuries. Bahrain reported a residential building had been hit, but said there were no fatalities.

The tit-for-tat assaults began Thursday with the Islamic Republic striking a container ship, prompting Washington to hit Iran the following day. The U.S. struck again overnight Saturday, after Tehran attacked a vessel carrying Qatari oil. Both sides blamed the other for breaching the ceasefire.

The violence has ratcheted up tensions in the wake of this month’s interim U.S.-Iran peace deal and risks slowing progress toward restoring traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz to prewar levels. Talks over the details of a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict were expected to resume this week.

“Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to,” the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement posted on X on Saturday. “Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”

The U.S. said it struck Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and mine-laying capabilities.

“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,” President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social after the latest strikes on Iran.

The Joint Maritime Information Center on Saturday raised the security threat in the Strait of Hormuz to “substantial” after a tanker was struck, and published a warning area for potential mines spanning much of the usual transit route. It also said the Omani route recommended by Western navies had been expanded to allow ships to transit in both directions simultaneously.

Several vessels were crossing early Sunday using both the designated Omani and Iranian routes.

An unidentified U.S. official told CNN after the American strikes that they didn’t constitute a return to major combat operations for now.

Tehran has repeatedly targeted Gulf states that host American military bases and thousands of troops since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

The IRGC said on Sunday that based on an agreement now known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, “traffic control arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz are with Iran, and from now on, violating ships will be dealt with more strongly than before,” Press TV reported in a post on X.

Since signing the 60-day ceasefire, Trump has said he would resume military action against Iran if it violates the agreement’s terms, which provide for the flow of vessels through the strait and talks over its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The two sides continue to tussle over key provisions, including whether Iran will impose tolls or other costs on ships seeking to sail through Hormuz. Oman told European officials that vessels may ultimately have to be charged some fees, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited neighboring Iraq on Sunday and said he discussed the U.S. accord with officials in Baghdad.

Iran is solely responsible for the restoration of Hormuz traffic and any interference risks escalation, he said in a televised press conference alongside his Iraqi counterpart.

Trump’s decision to attack demonstrates that he’s willing to use military force to maintain freedom of navigation in the strait.

Iran’s strikes, however, have shown it will seek to maintain control of the waterway, which has been largely shut since just after the war began.

The Hormuz strait, through which a fifth of the world’s crude and liquefied natural gas once transited, has become Tehran’s greatest point of leverage after its near-closure roiled the global economy.

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(With assistance from Alex Longley, Skylar Woodhouse and Tim Smith.)

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