The United States carried out a second consecutive day of military strikes on July 8, with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) saying its forces hit about 90 Iranian military targets. The targets included air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. The operation followed July 7 strikes on about 80 military targets, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) small boats, after Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed fighting has weakened a fragile ceasefire and sharply disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Vessel-tracking data showed most traffic using a northern, Iran-approved route, while the U.S.-backed Oman corridor remained largely empty. Kpler data showed a three-week average of 34 commercial transits per day since the temporary reopening, a peak of 59 on June 24, and fewer than 20 transits on most days during the conflict.
The latest escalation came about three weeks after a memorandum of understanding to begin a ceasefire and pushed global oil prices up by about 7% as markets reacted to higher geopolitical and supply risks. President Donald Trump said the conflict would “end very soon” and appeared to be using military pressure to push Iran back into negotiations on its nuclear program, although analysts said there was little sign Iran would make the concessions sought by Washington.
Iran strongly condemned the U.S. actions. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said countries providing territory, bases, or infrastructure in Europe for U.S. and Israeli military operations would share responsibility for the consequences. Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani also wrote to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Security Council, accusing the United States of repeatedly violating the UN Charter and abandoning the memorandum of understanding, while calling for immediate international action to stop further escalation.
According to Axios, the White House is preparing for possible military exchanges with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz that could last a day, a week, or even a month, depending on Iran’s actions. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on July 9 that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open only under “Iran’s arrangement” and warned that any new U.S. strike would be met with retaliation.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on July 9, President Trump said Iran had contacted the United States and was “very eager” to reach an agreement, although he questioned whether it deserved one. CNN, citing a U.S. official, reported Trump ordered the latest strikes on Wednesday night because the Strait of Hormuz had not fully reopened and Iran attacked vessels during the NATO summit, with Trump saying he had lost patience with the pace of nuclear negotiations.
Update: Pakistani government sources say Pakistan and Qatar have established new communication channels with the US and Iran to help prevent further military escalation and push both sides back to talks under the Islamabad memorandum. Despite renewed tensions, Islamabad remains optimistic the agreement can still hold.
