Iran launches strikes on US military positions after fresh attack | June 27 West Asia conflict highlights

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter applaud after signing a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

US-Iran deal highlights: Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said it targeted US military positions in the region, in response to a fresh US strike against Iran, Reuters reported. Iran's response came after US military launched retaliatory strikes on Iran in response to its attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted strikes against Iran, June 26, as a powerful response to yesterday’s attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the central command said in a statement.

Israel-Lebanon sign framework

Israel, Lebanon and the United States signed a trilateral framework agreement on Friday following several days of talks aimed at ending the long-running conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Ahead of the signing, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the agreement as an important first step. "Today we've taken the first step in what will be a difficult journey, without a doubt, but an important and an essential and a necessary one," Rubio said.

"It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead," he added.

Netanyahu calls deal a 'great achievement’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the agreement as a "great achievement" but said Israel would keep its troops in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer poses a threat.

"The most important thing, first and foremost, is that Israel will remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon," he said. "This is a major achievement, and we will maintain it as long as Hezbollah has not been disarmed and as long as it continues to pose a threat to the State of Israel."

Netanyahu also said Israel was allowing the Lebanese army to begin preparing to take control of territory.

"We are establishing two pilot zones, both based on the recommendation of the IDF," he said. "The first is entirely outside the security zone and south of the Litani River. The second is north of the Litani."

Hezbollah opposes agreement

Hezbollah has warned against the agreement, with the group's lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah saying it could not be implemented without triggering a civil war.

"Lebanese authorities will be unable to impose the implementation of the agreement signed in Washington unless they go, with American support, to civil war," Fadlallah said. His party has long opposed direct Israel-Lebanon talks, AFP reported.

He added that "what happened in Washington is an attempt to disrupt the Islamabad path, and without the resistance (Hezbollah) nothing will pass," referring to the initial agreement between the US and Iran on halting the Middle East war, which includes Lebanon.

IAEA says peace deal gives it access to Iran nuclear sites

The interim US-Iran peace accord gives inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog access to Iran, the agency's chief said on Friday, after Tehran indicated that key sites would remain off-limits until a final deal with Washington is reached and sanctions are lifted, Reuters reported.

"There is an agreement and to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said at a news conference in Japan. "We hope to be there soon.

IAEA says peace deal grants access to Iran's nuclear sites

The interim US-Iran peace accord gives inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog access to Iran, the agency's chief said on Friday, after Tehran indicated that key sites would remain off-limits until a final deal with Washington is reached and sanctions are lifted, Reuters reported.

"There is an agreement and to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said at a news conference in Japan. “We hope to be there soon.”