The United States and Iran exchanged a new round of military strikes on Wednesday, pushing their ceasefire agreement to its lowest point since it was signed last month.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran was “over” after overnight attacks, although he added that negotiators were free to continue talks if they wished.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
The latest escalation followed attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes for oil and liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The US military said Iran had attacked the vessels while they were passing through the waterway. Tehran has not directly claimed responsibility for the tanker incidents.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
US Central Command said it launched strikes against more than 80 targets across southern Iran in response. According to CENTCOM, the targets included air defence systems, coastal radar sites, command facilities, anti-ship missile positions, drone launch sites and dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast boats operating near the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Iranian media said most sites hit were civilian, reporting explosions in Sirik, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and Bushehr. Iranian officials said several people were injured, while local authorities also reported damage to commercial facilities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Iran responded within hours.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missiles and drones against 85 US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Iranian forces also claimed to have carried out a drone strike against the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain\u00a0and said they had shot down a US MQ-9 drone over southern Iran.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Authorities in Bahrain,\u00a0home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait,\u00a0home to U.S. Army forces, activated air raid sirens as air defence systems intercepted incoming missiles and drones.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kuwait later said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles and 13 drones without casualties. Officials reported temporary power outages following the attacks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The renewed fighting marks the largest exchange of fire between the United States and Iran since the memorandum of understanding<\/a> was signed on 17 June.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the alliance summit in Ankara, Trump said he no longer believed negotiations with Tehran were worthwhile.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n “I think it’s over,” Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n “I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n He added that negotiators including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were free to continue discussions but said, “I think they’re wasting their time.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Trump accused Iran of repeatedly breaking commitments made under the agreement and insisted Tehran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Rutte backed the American military response.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n “I think it was absolutely necessary because when you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react,” he told reporters before the NATO summit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Iran rejected the US account.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of violating the memorandum through renewed military action, the restoration of sanctions on Iranian oil exports and continued Israeli operations in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the US military strikes a “flagrant violation” of a memorandum of understanding, warning that Iran’s armed forces will respond under the right to self-defense.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n “The terrorist US army, in the early hours of Wednesday, July 8, 2026, with a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, committed military aggression against several monitoring and surveillance centers on Iran’s southern coast,” the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n “These aggressive attacks also constitute a flagrant violation of paragraph one of the memorandum of understanding on ending the war regarding the cessation of military operations,” it said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n