US strikes on Iran over, military warns it will hold Tehran ‘accountable’ in future

Wednesday, 8 July 2026

The US military says its strikes on Iran are over after hitting more than 80 targets, and warning Tehran it will hold it “accountable” in future.

The attacks came early Wednesday after the US said Tehran had struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, and following up on the decision to revoke Iran’s licence to sell oil, as part of their 60-days interim peace deal.

Iran immediately warned Washington it would “take whatever measures it deemed necessary,” raising the risks that the memorandum of understanding could break down, putting the wider Middle East again at risk of a wider conflict.

The attacks on shipping and the resulting strikes on Iran came during the days-long funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed February 28, in the initial strikes by US and Israeli forces.

The funeral, which ends Thursday, had been thought to be a period of lower tensions — though mourners have repeatedly called for the killings of US President Donald Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after Khamenei's burial, and focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.

Explosions on Wednesday had been reported in Iran’s southern port cities, including near Qeshm island, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik port.

One US official said the military targeted air defence systems, coastal surveillance systems, ground-to-air missiles and launch sites for anti-ship cruise missiles and drones. Iranian port facilities were also targeted, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

In a statement posted to social media, US Central Command had said American military forces launched the strikes “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway”.

“Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” the statement said, referring to the attacks on Tuesday.

“The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in a post on X that the new attacks by the US were a violation of the interim peace agreement.

The initial response from the US to the attacks on the three tankers had been to revoke Iran’s licence authorising the sale of Iranian oil.

A US official said the licence was revoked because Iran’s actions in the strait were unacceptable, and needed to be met with consequences. The official spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to share insight into the reasoning behind the move.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the US move to revoke the licence, saying in a statement that it violated the interim deal, and that “the US government bears responsibility for the consequences of this breach of commitment”. They said the revocation was a “clear violation” of the memorandum of understanding, signed on June 18, and showed “bad faith”.

What had Iranian forces attacked?

Three tankers were struck by projectiles on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military earlier said.

The new assaults in the fuel-shipping waterway were the most in a single day since late April, according to the UN International Maritime Organisation.

The attacks threatened to choke off the flow of traffic in the strait just as countries hoped to restore normal shipping practices and ease the global economic strain of the war. Hours later, the US made the move to revoke the 60-day licence issued last month that waived the sanctions on Iranian oil.

One tanker was travelling off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said.

Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings, but did not directly claim the assault.

The other two ships sustained some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued on their way, the UK maritime agency said.

Location details provided by the UK agency showed all three attacks occurred off the coast of Oman, or the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, making it likely that the ships were using the route near Oman.

Talks between US and Iran are on hold

The US had been eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme and reaching a permanent end to the war launched February 28.

Previous attacks in the strait had sparked retaliatory strikes by the US, and Iran then attacked Gulf Arab states. In peacetime, a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the channel.

The licence issued by the US authorised the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil through August 21. US Vice President JD Vance said at the time that lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a “good foundation for a successful final deal” to end the war.

Talks between Iran and the US had appeared to be on hold until after the burial of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war. Mourners at his funeral have called for the death of US President Donald Trump.

Authorities flew Khamenei's body to the Shiite seminary city of Qom, where mourners honoured him Tuesday.

LNG tanker struck in latest attack in strait

One tanker was carrying liquid natural gas south through the strait near Limah, Oman, when a projectile hit the left-side engine room and sparked a fire, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said.

Iranian state TV, quoting anonymous sources, implied that Tehran carried out the assault on a tanker it said was carrying natural gas from Qatar. However, there was no official claim from the Islamic Republic for the attack.

Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said the Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat was targeted in an “unacceptable attack” on international navigation and global energy security. He called it a “serious and explicit violation” of international law.

In a post on X, he said Qatar holds Iran “fully legally responsible” for the attack.

Later Tuesday, the UK maritime agency reported that an oil tanker was hit on its left side as it exited the strait near the Omani-Emirati border. A third tanker was struck by a drone off Oman, the agency said.

Iran’s joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers moving through the strait must use its approved routes. It also said that interference by US forces in the strait “will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction”.

But the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the US Navy, told shippers Monday that the route around Oman “has been expanded and remains available for all traffic”.

Ships going to the north on the Iranian route must register with Tehran. Those going south work with Oman and the US.

Speaking Monday at the White House, Trump warned Iran that it would need to “make a deal, or we're going to finish the job”.

“I'd rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump said.

“We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply.”

Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal to allow ships to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the vessels' routes and later charge fees for passage, which would upend decades of practice in the waterway.

The US and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. An effort by Oman and the UN to launch a new route near Oman’s shore earlier sparked attacks across the Middle East.

The data firm Kpler reported that over last weekend at least 108 ships crossed through the strait using various routes.

Mourners gather in Qom for Khamenei's funeral

Iranian state television aired live images Tuesday of hundreds of thousands of people walking toward Jamkaran Mosque, just south of Qom, for a funeral service for Khamenei. Shiites believe the mosque once hosted Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam, who disappeared in the 9th century and is supposed to one day reappear to bring justice to the world.

Images of Khamenei and his son, Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, were displayed on banners and posters held by mourners. Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to make an appearance at the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.

Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began Saturday.

The government-run IRNA news agency reported that Khamenei’s body was taken Tuesday night to Najaf, Iraq.

Processions are planned for Wednesday in Najaf and Karbala, the two holy cities of Iraqi Shiism. Iraq has a sizeable Shiite population and is home to major Shiite religious sites and centres of learning.

Khamenei, who was 86, will then be returned to Iran to be buried Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.