Trump threatens harsher Iran strikes as Strait of Hormuz traffic grinds to near halt
Trump warned of tougher US military action against Iran as fresh strikes hit multiple targets and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply amid renewed tensions
US President Donald Trump shared images and a video of fresh US strikes on an airbase in Iran’s southeastern city of Iranshahr as American forces carried out a second consecutive day of attacks targeting Iranian military infrastructure.
US military officials said that approximately 90 Iranian military targets were hit in their latest strikes, targeting air defense systems, missile and drone storage sites, and other assets. The United States "completed an additional round of strikes against Iran, July 8, to further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz," according to a statement posted to X by US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Meanwhile, Trump has doubled down on his threats, telling reporters that the US military will hit Iranian targets 20 times harder than Tehran targets ships in the Strait of Hormuz. He claimed that Tehran wants a truce deal with Washington 'badly'. He told reporters onboard the Air Force One, “Iran called a while ago. They want to make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they are worthy. I don't know if they are going to honour the deal. That's the problem.”
US strikes multiple Iranian targets
Iran state media reported explosions in multiple locations along the southern Iranian coast, including Bushehr, home to Iran's nuclear power plant complex, and the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik. An airbase in Iranshahr also came under US military fire.
According to Al Jazeera, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US forces also attacked Iran’s southern coastal provinces and “two bridges in the eastern provinces towards the holy city of Mashhad”.
Mashhad is the city where Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to be buried later on Thursday. The IRGC claimed the US launched the attacks in an attempt to overshadow what it described as the “historic” funeral ceremony.
It also warned that if the US carries out further attacks, Iran’s “crushing responses would be expanded to include other American bases in the region”.
Iran widens retaliatory strikes
The move has sparked retaliatory Iranian strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar in a crossfire that again threatened an interim deal aimed at finding a way to end the war gripping the Persian Gulf. The Associated Press reported that Thursday's Iranian attacks appeared bigger all around.
However, there has been no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait's military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles.
Hormuz traffic grinds to near halt
Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz almost came to a halt on Thursday after the United States carried out a second consecutive day of strikes on Iran, raising fresh doubts over the stability of the fragile truce between the two countries.
Ship-tracking data showed that most vessel movements through the crucial global energy route were taking place along a route approved by Iran closer to the northern side of the strait, while the Oman corridor, backed by the US, saw little activity, Bloomberg reported.
Among the larger vessels, only a US-sanctioned supertanker leaving the Persian Gulf and an Iranian-flagged container ship were observed passing through the strait. However, it remains possible that some ships crossed the waterway with their transponders switched off.