US strikes Iran after Strait of Hormuz cargo ship attack as ceasefire tensions escalate

Most Israelis support a hardline approach toward Iran and its regional proxies, according to a Jerusalem Post report citing a new public opinion survey.

The survey, conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security with Lazar Research, found that 56% of Israelis support military action against Hezbollah even if it could lead to a direct confrontation with Iran.

The Jerusalem Post reported that 79% of respondents said they do not trust ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah to provide long-term security, reflecting continued skepticism toward diplomatic arrangements following the Oct. 7 attacks.

The poll also found that 66% of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, while a majority of respondents backed maintaining strong security measures against regional threats.

Progressive political commentator Cenk Uygur criticized renewed U.S. military action against Iran on Friday, arguing Washington should focus on diplomacy rather than further involvement in the region.

“We’re back to bombing Iran. This is exhausting,” Uygur wrote on X.

“Just stop listening to Israel. They’re going to try to drag us back into war in every possible way. Get to peace. Leave the region,” he added.

Uygur also argued that Iran had already agreed not to pursue a nuclear weapons program and called for the United States to disengage from the conflict.

“Let’s come home!!” he wrote.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday praised the newly signed trilateral framework agreement between the United States, Israel and Lebanon, calling it a significant step toward regional peace.

“The U.S. is proud to be a part of today’s historic trilateral framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” Rubio wrote on X.

“There is more work to be done, but we’re taking meaningful steps toward a future of peace, prosperity, and mutual coexistence,” he added.

Rubio’s comments came after U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials signed the agreement at the State Department in Washington following several days of negotiations aimed at reducing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and curbing Hezbollah’s influence.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., praised the newly signed U.S.-backed framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Friday, calling it an important step toward curbing Hezbollah’s influence.

“Hezbollah savages have American blood on their hands,” the Arkansas Republican wrote on X.

Cotton said he applauded President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “for forging this important agreement that will restrain Iran’s terrorist proxy.”

“Let me be clear: Tehran has no future in Lebanon,” he added.

The comments came after Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement in Washington with U.S. backing following months of conflict.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter thanked the Trump administration on Friday following the signing of a U.S.-backed framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

“Under the leadership of President Donald Trump, and Secretary Marco Rubio, we are on the track toward security and peace between Israel and Lebanon,” Leiter wrote on X.

Leiter said the agreement demonstrates that “both our people’s want peace” and argued that Iran and its proxy Hezbollah “won’t get in the way of achieving it.”

“The sovereign governments of Israel and Lebanon will decide the fate of our people, and shape the future of our countries, not the mullahs of Tehran,” he added.

Vice President JD Vance warned Iran on Friday that further attacks would be met with force following U.S. strikes on Iranian targets along the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran signed a ceasefire agreement. We have honored it,” Vance wrote on X while reposting a CENTCOM statement announcing the strikes.

“If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone,” he added.

“But violence will be met with violence.”

The comments came after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites as well as coastal radar installations in response to Tehran’s attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s underground bunker complex included a blast-resistant room and escape tunnels beneath central Tehran.

According to Iran International, which said it obtained architectural plans from an informed source whose authenticity was confirmed by a security source, the complex was located next to Khamenei’s official residence.

The report said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) began construction of the site in 2009 with Khamenei’s approval. The plans allegedly show a main entrance large enough for vehicles and access to a facility roughly 90 feet underground.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah warned that Lebanese authorities would face fierce opposition if they attempt to implement the U.S.-mediated framework agreement signed with Israel on Friday, according to Reuters, which cited comments carried by Al Mayadeen.

Fadlallah said Lebanese authorities would not be able to enforce the agreement unless they were prepared to “go to civil war” with U.S. support.

The Hezbollah lawmaker also said the Iran-backed terror group would confront any measures taken by Lebanese authorities under the agreement and would hold on to its weapons, describing the group’s opposition as “serious.”

U.S. military airstrikes against Iranian targets are complete, a senior U.S. defense official told Fox News on Friday.

The official said all of the targets were located along the Strait of Hormuz and included radar installations, drones and missile systems that had been used to attack commercial shipping.

The strikes followed an Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel in the strategic waterway that U.S. officials described as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this reporting.

U.S. military strikes against Iranian targets remain ongoing, a senior U.S. defense official told Fox News on Friday.

The official said the U.S. force posture in the Middle East has not changed since the memorandum of understanding with Iran was signed earlier this month.

According to the official, U.S. assets in the region include two aircraft carriers, 17 guided-missile destroyers, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and more than a dozen air squadrons operating at sea.

Fox News’ Jen Griffin and Liz Friden contributed to this reporting.

President Donald Trump declined Friday to say whether Iran will face consequences after he accused the regime of violating the ceasefire agreement by attacking a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked by reporters if Iran would face repercussions, Trump replied: “You’ll find out.”

“I don’t like the fact that they took a shot yesterday,” Trump said, referring to what he described as an attack on a commercial vessel. “They shouldn’t be doing that.”

When asked whether the U.S. would respond, Trump repeated: “We’re going to respond. You’re going to find out.”

According to CNN, Israel will withdraw from two areas in southern Lebanon and transfer the sites to the Lebanese military under a newly signed U.S.-backed agreement.

The outlet reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one area is north of the Litani River and the other is south of it, describing the sites as places the Israel Defense Forces “does not need.”

The deal was reached after days of talks in Washington between Israel, Lebanon and the United States, CNN reported.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the agreement “the beginning of the beginning” while warning that “there’s a lot of work ahead.”

Netanyahu described the deal as “a major blow to Iran,” saying Israel, Lebanon and the U.S. were sending Tehran a message that southern Lebanon is “none of your business.”

According to Iran International, an Iranian member of the country’s negotiating team said Tehran intends to resume collecting fees from vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz after a 60-day suspension expires.

Hossein Ghorbanzadeh said Iran accepted the temporary pause “so that the agreement could be reached.”

“After this period ends, collection of fees from passing vessels will resume,” Ghorbanzadeh said.

Ghorbanzadeh also argued that charging ships solely for passing through the waterway “has no meaning under international law” and said fees are collected in exchange for services provided to vessels.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that gasoline prices are expected to fall as energy markets stabilize following the conflict with Iran.

Speaking at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s policy conference, Bessent said the U.S. economy remained resilient throughout the war and noted crude oil prices have already fallen below pre-conflict levels.

“Gasoline is going to come back down,” Bessent said. “We are actually lower now than we were on February 27th in crude oil markets.”

Bessent added that gasoline prices typically lag behind movements in crude oil and said prices could fall further because “the world is awash in crude.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday a U.S.-backed “framework for lasting peace and security” between Israel and Lebanon following multiple days of talks between both sides in Washington this week. 

Israel has been clashing with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon in recent days despite a previous ceasefire agreement. 

“Today is a good day in that we are happy to announce a framework agreement between the sovereign government of Lebanon and the government of Israel, with the mediation and support of the United States of America, that begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security. And that’s what these two nations deserve,” Rubio said Friday. 

“The people of Lebanon have suffered tremendously now for decades, as a result of outside interference in their affair, of countries trying to use the country as a launchpad for attacks. And this is not what the people of Lebanon want and that’s not what they deserve,” Rubio added. 

“What they deserve to have is what they once had, and of which there is recent history of. And that is a prosperous and peaceful country, a diverse country where people of different backgrounds are able to live and go co-exist side by side, and in many ways was the envy of the region and of the world,” Rubio also said. 

“Obviously, the people of Israel deserve to live in peace and security. The people of northern Israel in particular, who have been targeted repeatedly by terrorist attacks launched from the territory of Lebanon, but not by the Lebanese people, not by the Lebanese government, but by an outside actor who has sought to use that territory to target innocent civilians who have been unable to live in these places for a long time,” Rubio continued. 

Authorities in Oman told European officials that “there’s no way of going back to the pre-war status quo” in the Strait of Hormuz and said ships may have to be charged fees, according to a Friday Bloomberg report.

The Omani authorities reportedly said the fees may be charged for de-polluting the strait or helping ships navigate it.

The U.S., Europe and Oman’s gulf allies are “increasingly concerned” that Oman will collaborate with Iran in order to collect fees for safe passage through the strait, according to the report.

The Trump administration has consistently denied the possibility of allowing Iran or Oman to impose tolls on the international waterway.

“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs,” President Donald Trump wrote in a June 20 Truth Social post.

Vice President Vance has voiced similar sentiments.

“Our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term,” Vance said on June 15 following the announcement of the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran.

Having crushed Iran’s nuclear capabilities during two wars in joint attacks with the Israelis, the latest and most significant chapter of whether there will be peace is whether the regime will allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to its nuclear weapons facilities.

Conflicting statements and reports from President Trump and Iran’s Foreign Ministry suggest the U.N.’s IAEA will face the same recalcitrant policy from Tehran it has experienced for two decades in blocking its inspectors from conducting robust verification of the clerical regime’s vast nuclear facilities, including underground compounds. The IAEA sticking point might be a deal-breaker for President Trump.

David Albright, who is widely viewed as one of the world’s leading experts on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, told Fox News Digital the “IAEA comes up short” in its efforts to secure information and verification about Iran’s nuclear weapons program because “Iran has not cooperated for twenty years.”

Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security said, “Iran loves to generate plans of action that can be extended” and the process becomes a “pointless exercise.”

For Iran experts like Albright, Iran’s skill in the art of procrastination has allowed it to stretch out talks over the decades while working to advance its work on a nuclear weapons device and a missile system to deliver it.

As a result, Albright said “it colors my view of the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding]” agreed to between the U.S. and Iran that codifies IAEA inspections of Iran’s atomic weapons program.

Albright sees the IAEA as a key test for the success of U.S.-Iran talks. “The way Iran treats the IAEA will tell us if the negotiations are meaningful,” adding that Tehran’s regime has treated the IAEA terribly in the past.

President Donald Trump on Friday accused Iran of carrying out a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement, describing how the regime “shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz.” 

“One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

“We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” the president added. 

The U.S. military is no longer conducting a blockade of Iranian ports, but U.S. Central Command said forces remain “present and vigilant throughout the region.” 

Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expects Iran to allow inspectors from his agency into the country to review Iranian nuclear sites, he said during a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday.

Grossi cited the memorandum of understanding (MOU) framework that President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed on June 17.

“This agreement expressly indicated that the nuclear part will be supervised, monitored, by the IAEA,” he said.

“What is undeniable is that we have an MOU. This MOU indicates specifically that the nuclear part of the memorandum will be supervised, this is the word, supervised by the IAEA. In order to supervise, we need to inspect, there is no other way,” he continued.

“The technical work has started and we hope to be there soon,” he added.

He also warned that a strong verification system was necessary

“I think the objective of this agreement is to ensure that there is no development of nuclear weapons in Iran. The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention,” he said, adding “but of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place… as soon as is practicable.”

Residents of Dubai received an incoming missile alert that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities told them to ignore shortly after, indicating the alet was a false alarm.

The mobile phone alert, the first of its kind UAE residents received since the U.S. and Iran reached an interim ceasefire last week, was quickly followed with a message reading “disregard the previous warning.”

The message was underlined with a rise in tension after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck a Singapore-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with a drone.

Shortly after the alert went out, the UAE’s government revealed details from a phone call between UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

During the call, Sheikh Abdullah “emphasized the importance of full commitment” to the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, the government said in an announcement.

“Serious diplomacy and responsible dialogue are the optimal path for addressing all regional and international crises,” the announcement said.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday it eliminated seven Hezbollah terrorists who allegedly transferred weapons near the security zone in southern Lebanon.

The Hezbollah terrorists were loading the weapons into a structure in the El Manzala area that the group was using as a staging ground to carry out attakcs against IDF soldiers, the IDF said.

“The IDF will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to harm Israeli civilians or IDF soldiers, and will continue to operate to remove threats,” an IDF spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News.

Yael Kuriel contributed to this report.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forced three foreign oil tankers to turn around in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported Friday, citing Iranian state media.

Turkish state-affiliated broadcaster Anadolu corroborated the reports, also citing Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

The vessels attempted to cross the southern tip of the Strait without coordinating with Iranian authorities, prompting the IRGC to issue a warning that attempting to cross without Tehran’s permission was “illegal, unacceptable and highly dangerous,” according to Anadolu.

The vessels then turned back towards the Persian Gulf, according to the outlet.

President Donald Trump, during a Friday speech to U.S. farmers, declared the Strait of Hormuz open.

Ashoura, the holiest day for Shiite Muslims, takes place Friday, spurring large religious gatherings across the Muslim world, particularly in Iran where Shiites are the dominant religious group.

Ashoura commemorates the seventh-century killing of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and a seminal figure in Shiite theology.

The holiday is the culmination of a 10-day mourning period for Hussein, who is revered by Shiite Muslims as the ultimate martyr.

Large crowds gathered in Lebanon and Iraq on Friday, particularly in the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is buried.

Naim Kassem, the leader of the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, said in a speech Friday that Ashoura is being repeated again by the U.S. and Israel.

“America and Israel also wanted to eliminate Iran by removing the regime and controlling the country,” Kassem said. “The memorandum of understanding is a declaration of defeat for America and Israel,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

Pope Leo XIV said war “is never blessed by God” to begin a convening of the world’s cardinals at The Vatican on Friday.

“Therefore, war is never worthy of humanity, and it is never blessed by God,” Pope Leo said during a Friday morning mass to open the meeting of the cardinals.

“Because, even if we are equipped with high-tech weapons, the Creator has endowed us with intelligence and free will to resolve conflicts as human beings and not as beasts,” the Pope continued.

President Donald Trump said Thursday evening that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran from a “position of pure strength.”

“We knocked the hell out of them, and now we’re negotiating from a position of pure strength,” Trump said at a dinner with American farmers in the White House Rose Garden. “Pure strength. They know that.”

Trump said Iran “wants to make a deal with us very badly,” while also insisting Tehran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

“They will not have a nuclear weapon,” the president said. “And they’ve agreed to that.”

The president also said the Strait of Hormuz remains open.

Trump additionally reiterated that Iran could become a new market for U.S. farmers, saying the administration would use Iranian money to buy “wheat, soybeans and corn” as Tehran struggles with food shortages.

Retired U.S. Navy Commander Kirk Lippold said Thursday that Iran’s reported push to charge fees for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz is a violation of international law.

“Clearly, they are trying to get these tolls put into place, that’s exactly what it is. It is in violation of international law. It is an international waterway through the Strait of Hormuz. They do not have control of it,” Lippold said during an appearance on Fox News’ “America Reports.”

Lippold said the Trump administration is seeing that Iran “cannot be trusted” in negotiations.

“Whether it is the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], the president or the Ayatollah, anything they say and do has to be measured by actions,” he added.