WASHINGTON: The U.S. military launched a new wave of airstrikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license permitting Tehran to sell oil abroad, following projectile attacks on three commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that threatened an already fragile ceasefire.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes hit more than 80 targets, including over 60 small boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in an effort to degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
“The unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces is a clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 8, 2026
The military action came after a day of massive mourning in Iran for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the conflict in February. His casket was paraded through the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, reports said.
Iran’s top military command denounced the U.S. strikes as a “blatant act of aggression” and threatened a “crushing response,” vowing that Tehran would not allow U.S. interference in the management of the strait.
Iranian media reported explosions early Wednesday local time on Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, as well as on Qeshm Island and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas. State TV reported that several people were injured by shrapnel from an “enemy projectile” that hit a commercial pier in Sirik, and that strikes set fishing boats ablaze in Sirik and Bandar Abbas. No civilian deaths were reported.
CENTCOM’s statement did not mention Kharg Island, which handles 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports and was last attacked by the U.S. in April. A U.S. official told Reuters that the strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance sites, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites.
In a potentially major blow to the month-old ceasefire agreement, Washington on Tuesday withdrew a key concession that had allowed Iran to sell oil on international markets. The U.S. Treasury had issued a general license June 22 permitting such sales through Aug. 21, but revoked it Tuesday, giving Iran until July 17 to wind down transactions.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the revocation as a breach of the framework agreement and said Washington would bear responsibility for the consequences.
The attacks on tankers included the Qatari-flagged liquefied natural gas carrier Al Rekayyat, which reported being struck overnight by a drone that caused a fire in its engine room. The crew was safe and being evacuated, officials said. A Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, believed to be the supertanker Wedyan, was also damaged off Oman, though the cause was not immediately clear.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said it summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador and delivered a protest note. Iran’s foreign ministry called the accusations “perplexing” and said commercial vessels faced risks for using routes not coordinated with Tehran.
A second U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial indications were that Iran had fired at the three commercial vessels.
The ceasefire, brokered last month, was intended to provide a 60-day window for negotiations on a permanent agreement. But indirect talks in Qatar ended last week with no visible progress.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume bombing, telling reporters Monday: “We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job. … We can knock down their bridges in one hour, we can knock out their energy supply.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to the U.S. strikes. The Guard said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against the U.S. Fifth Fleet’s headquarters in Bandar Salman, Bahrain, and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone attempting to interfere.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, officials said. The Kuwaiti army said air defenses were confronting “hostile” missile and drone attacks.
