Middle East Crisis Live: US launches new strikes on Iran after ships hit in Strait of Hormuz | US-Israeli war against Iran

US strikes could last hours

New U.S. strikes on Iran are expected to last for hours, a U.S. military official told The Associated Press.

Another official said the US military was targeting Iran’s air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles as well as anti-ship cruise missile and drone launch sites. Iranian port facilities are also being targeted, the official added.

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Update on air sirens in Bahrain:

“The siren has sounded,” the ministry said on X, without giving details of the apparent threat. “Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place. »

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Sirens sounded in Bahrain, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

We’ll keep you updated with more details as they arrive.

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US Central Command also said it struck “more than 60 small Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats in and near the strait,” in addition to Iranian defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites and anti-ship missile capabilities.

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Iran’s highest joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Wednesday that Iran’s armed forces would provide an “overwhelming response” and warned that “Tehran will not allow US interference in the management of the Strait of Hormuz.”

He said the only safe passage for commercial ships and oil tankers through the waterway was the route determined by Iran.

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US forces have carried out a new series of strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 targets, according to US Central Command.

The comments came as Iran’s top joint military command said the US military had targeted parts of southern Iran in “blatant aggression” and vowed to give an “overwhelming response”.

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Updated at 10:20 p.m. EDT

Some information on the last climb:

Iran’s clerical leaders aim to install a permanent system of tax collection, which would amount to a huge shift in the balance of power in a region where Washington has long acted as security guarantor.

In the country, leaders used the mourning for Khamenei that began last week to show control after Khamenei was killed along with his daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and daughter-in-law on the first day of the war.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was in Iraq to take part in funeral ceremonies, left for Iran after US strikes in southern Iran, state television reported.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a funeral ceremony for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 7, 2026. Photograph: Iranian presidential website/Reuters

The ceasefire was intended to provide a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent deal, but indirect talks in Qatar ended last week with no sign of progress.

President Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume bombing, most recently on Monday when he told reporters in the Oval Office: “We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job… We can take down their bridges in an hour, we can cut off their energy supply.” »

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US President Donald Trump is currently in Türkiye, where he met with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara.

Trump criticized NATO’s ability to operate without American leadership and power, expressing disappointment with the refusal of some NATO allies to join the war against Iran that he launched alongside Israel without consulting them.

Donald Trump at the presidential complex in Ankara, Türkiye, July 7, 2026. Photo: Xinhua/ShutterstockShare

Iranian Press TV reports that more explosions were reported on Qeshm Island and several explosions were heard on Kharg Island.

We will continue to provide updates as they arrive.

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Qatar accused Iran of attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, including the huge Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, the Al Rekayyat, which was allegedly struck overnight by a drone which caused a fire in its engine room. The crew was safe and being evacuated.

A Saudi-flagged tanker, believed to be the supertanker Wedyan, was also damaged off the coast of Oman, maritime security sources said. The cause was not immediately clear.

Tugboats guide the oil tanker Odessa, carrying crude from the United Arab Emirates after passing through the Strait of Hormuz last May. Photograph: Kim Soo-hyeon/Reuters

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador and handed him a note of protest after the tanker attack.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Qatar’s accusations were puzzling and that Tehran was diligently fulfilling its commitments, but asserted that commercial ships faced risks if they took uncoordinated routes with Iran.

A second U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial indications suggested Iran had fired on three commercial ships.

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Weeks after signing an interim memorandum of understanding to end the war, the United States and Iran have struggled to maintain the fragile truce, with the fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz catalyzing continued retaliatory actions.

A day after Iranian strikes against three commercial ships, the United States today launched new strikes against Iran.

If you’re just catching up, here’s the latest.

The US military launched a series of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, US Central Command confirmed. A US official said the strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, port facilities, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles as well as anti-ship cruise missile and drone launch sites.

The United States said the strikes were a response to Iranian attacks the day before on three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran’s aggression was unjustified, dangerous and a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” a US military statement said.

Before the attacks, the United States had also revoked a temporary waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil, with the US Treasury canceling a license that allowed Iran to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products until August 21. Some have described the move as a potentially major blow to the deal.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at the United States, pledging to “take all measures it deems necessary to safeguard its national interests and security.” The ministry also accused the United States of “treacherous actions” and “major violations” of the memorandum of understanding. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, insisted that Iran would “take decisive measures to safeguard its national interests and security.”

Iranian media said six projectiles hit the Taheroui pier area in Sirik, southern Iran. No civilian deaths were reported, but several people were injured by shrapnel from an “enemy projectile” that hit a commercial wharf in Sirik, according to a journalist on Iranian state television. Reports indicate that the strikes also affected the fishing wharves of Sirik and Bandar Abbas, where several fishing boats were set on fire.

Huge crowds mourned the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the holy city of Qom. Photo: Anadolu/Getty Images

These are the first known US military strikes against Iran since late last month, when there had been several days of strikes and counterattacks in between. It comes a day after huge crowds mourned Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in the holy city of Qom.

The benchmark US oil contract rose more than 2.5% as markets opened on Wednesday, as tensions in the Middle East increased with new US attacks on Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude, one of the world’s two main benchmarks, rose 2.63% to $72.29 a barrel. It rose 2.76% on Tuesday.

A U.S. official said earlier that negotiators “continue to work in good faith toward a final agreement with Iran.” But control of the strait gave Tehran immense leverage, allowing it to force a standoff with the world’s most powerful military. Analysts say Tehran is using attacks on ships to emphasize that leverage as it negotiates a long-term peace deal with the United States.

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Updated at 8:03 p.m. EDT

Oil Rises Moderately as Middle East Tensions Rise Again

The benchmark US oil contract rose more than 2.5% as markets opened on Wednesday, as tensions in the Middle East increased with new US attacks on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate crude, one of the two main global benchmarks, rose 2.63% to $72.29 a barrel. It rose 2.76% on Tuesday.

The surge came after U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran after three commercial ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. military.

Fuel prices are displayed at a gas station in Lisbon, Portugal, in July. Photography: Luis Boza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Iranian state media reported numerous explosions around the strait, including six on the island of Qeshm, seven in the town of Sirik and more in the major port city of Bandar Abbas.

Oil prices are still well below the highs they reached when the war began in late February and Iran largely closed the Strait of Hormuz.

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