Jakarta, ThedailyID — US President Donald Trump ordered a new wave of military strikes against Iran on Wednesday, July 8. He warned Tehran would face “far worse” consequences if it continued attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported explosions across several southern coastal cities shortly after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the operation.
According to the official IRNA news agency, fighter jets flew over Kish Island. Explosions also hit the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak, and Chabahar. Some areas experienced power outages.
“We will hit them hard tonight. They violate the agreement every day,” Trump said while attending the NATO Summit in Ankara.
Trump later defended the strikes in a Truth Social post. He said the operation responded to Iran’s attacks on commercial ships the previous day.
“This is retaliation for Iran’s bombing of ships yesterday. If it happens again, the consequences will be far worse,” Trump wrote.
CENTCOM said the strikes aimed to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the strategic waterway each day.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for its latest unjustified aggression against commercial shipping,” CENTCOM said in a statement on X.
Earlier, Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran had ended. His announcement prompted Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Nations to call for immediate de-escalation.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the most volatile flashpoint in the Middle East conflict, which began on February 28 after a joint US-Israeli strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Iran plans to bury him in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.
Since then, Tehran has asserted greater control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials threatened to charge passing vessels and warned they could target ships that leave designated shipping lanes.
In recent days, Iranian forces attacked at least three commercial vessels. Those incidents triggered large-scale US strikes on Iranian targets, followed by Iran’s retaliatory attacks against several Gulf states.
