Iran-US tensions boil over as Washington hits Tehran with two nights of strikes
America carried out a brand new spherical of airstrikes on Iran on Thursday, simply hours after President Donald Trump warned he would escalate the battle except Tehran halted its assaults on delivery within the strait of Hormuz. Iran hit again by placing targets linked to US allies Kuwait and Qatar, and accused Washington of bombing close to its solely civilian nuclear plant.
The alternate marked essentially the most severe flare-up for the reason that two international locations signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 meant to increase their ceasefire and create room for an enduring peace deal. It unfolded whilst Iran buried former supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and as Israeli defence minister Israel Katz warned his nation was able to resume navy motion in opposition to Iran “with even higher drive” if vital.
Strikes hit navy bases
Iranian officers mentioned the US strikes reached the perimeters of the Bushehr nuclear energy advanced, together with a navy base and a fishing pier within the surrounding province. Deputy governor Ehsan Jahanian mentioned a number of areas had been hit however reported no casualties there thus far. Iran additionally mentioned strikes had broken two bridges close to Mashhad that function key commerce hyperlinks with China, calling the transfer a battle crime.
IRGC releases footage of this morning’s missile strikes on US base infrastructure and key services
Written on one of many missiles: ‘Khamenei’s revenge’ pic.twitter.com/jEATMx0ZF0
— RT (@RT_com) July 9, 2026
The Pentagon mentioned it struck roughly 90 targets throughout Iran, geared toward missile launchers and runways, describing the purpose as degrading Iran’s skill to threaten delivery by Hormuz a hall that carries a couple of fifth of the world’s oil and fuel.
Trump frames strikes as retaliation
Trump declared the ceasefire settlement “over,” citing Iranian strikes on three ships within the strait earlier within the week. After the US strikes, he posted footage of explosions and warned that is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it occurs once more, it should get a lot worse!”
Iranian officers pushed again firmly. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote that “America nonetheless hasn’t discovered that bullying and breaking guarantees are not cost-free,” including a blunt warning that any strike could be met in type. Iran’s navy individually threatened a “crushing response” to additional US motion.
Dr. Ghalibaf: America has not but discovered that coercion and dangerous religion are not free.
Let me be clear: you hit and also you eat. pic.twitter.com/RAyI2MY7IL— Ghalibaff followers community (@ghalibaffans) July 9, 2026
No less than three folks had been killed in Iran’s Khuzestan province and a firefighter died in a strike on an airport in Iranshahr, with 9 Iranian troops reported killed a day earlier. Qatar’s prime minister, a key mediator, spoke with Iran’s overseas minister and condemned Tehran’s strikes on delivery, as regional powers scrambled to maintain collapsing talks alive.
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Oil costs spiked briefly on the information earlier than easing as soon as calm returned. Iran maintains that roughly half of prewar delivery visitors has resumed by Hormuz, although solely through routes it designates a key level of friction with Washington, which insists the strait should stay open to all business visitors with out Iranian tolls. Talks towards a everlasting deal had been anticipated to renew as soon as Khamenei’s funeral rites concluded.
CENTCOM particulars scope of the strikes
US Central Command later confirmed the operation, saying its forces struck greater than 80 targets on July 7 as a direct response to Iran’s assaults on delivery within the strait. In keeping with the command, the strikes hit Iranian air defenses, command-and-control networks, coastal radar installations, anti-ship missile functionality, and over 60 small boats operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in and across the waterway.
https://t.co/fiKJRI9zmE
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 9, 2026
CENTCOM recognized the three vessels Iran had focused because the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Al Rekayyat, the Saudi-flagged Wedyan, and the Liberian-flagged Cyprus Prosperity, calling the assaults a transparent breach of the ceasefire. The command mentioned it stays postured and ready to carry Iran accountable” for any additional violations of the settlement.
CENTCOM mentioned it carried out one other spherical of strikes on July 8, an evening after the primary, geared toward additional weakening Iran’s skill to threaten delivery and civilian mariners within the strait. The command mentioned roughly 90 Iranian navy targets had been struck this time, together with air defenses, coastal surveillance websites, missile and drone storage services, naval belongings, and logistics infrastructure alongside the coast.
Taken collectively, the 2 nights of strikes hit near 170 targets, in accordance with CENTCOM’s personal tallies about 80 on July 7 and roughly 90 the next night time.
