US Central Command (Centcom) said targets included the southern port city of Bandar Abbas \u2013 home \u2060to key \u200bfacilities belonging to the Iranian navy and Revolutionary Guards \u2013 in the strikes overnight to Thursday morning local time. \u201cThe US military is holding Iran accountable at the commander in chief\u2019s direction,\u201d it said, referring to president Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Iranian state media said the strikes also hit around Tehran \u2013 the first time the capital has been targeted in the latest round of attacks.<\/p>\n
Iran targeted US-allied Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan with missiles and drones in retaliation.<\/p>\n
Centcom said US aircraft fired missiles into an oil tanker\u2019s smokestack in the Hormuz strait, disabling the vessel, after it ignored multiple warnings as it tried to violate the US naval blockade of Iran\u2019s ports.<\/p>\n
![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1074.jpg\")
Smoke and flames rise in Chabahar, Iran, after reported explosions on Wednesday amid US strikes. Photograph: Social media\/Reuters<\/p>\n
In other key developments:<\/p>\n
Trump \u2060said \u2060he did not \u200blike giving deadlines \u2060when asked by \u2060reporters if Tehran \u200chad a \u200cdeadline before the US started attacking Iranian bridges, as he has threatened. \u201cThey know \u200bthe story \u2026 \u200bThey \u200bbetter \u200bbehave,\u201d \u200bhe said.<\/p>\n
Tehran\u2019s top negotiator said that \u2060if Iran \u2060did \u200bnot benefit from its memorandum of \u2060understanding with the US, \u201cwe have no reason \u2060to adhere to such an \u200bunderstanding\u201d. Iran had \u201cnever welcomed war, nor do we now\u201d, \u2060said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliamentary speaker. He called on Iranians to continue with their armed resistance but to also \u201cuse the tools of diplomacy and negotiation to achieve and consolidate national interests\u201d.<\/p>\n
Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities amid the latest US strikes, including Bandar Abbas, Rask, Chabahar and Ahvaz as well as Semnan province, home to the country\u2019s ballistic missile production and space programme. Reports also cited blasts around southern sites including Qeshm and Bandar Imam Khomeini, as well as in Bushehr, home to Iran\u2019s only civilian nuclear plant.<\/p>\n
The US strikes hit an Iranian army barracks, killed at least seven troops and wounded hundreds of people across the country, according to Iranian officials. There was no immediate word on casualties from Iran\u2019s strikes, but its health ministry said at least 30 people had been killed and 260 injured in southern Iran in US attacks in recent days.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s army said it used kamikaze drones to target US military communication systems and fuel storage facilities in Jordan. The Jordanian military said it shot down eight missiles Iran launched at the kingdom.<\/p>\n
Trump thanked Iran for allowing an American citizen he says was \u201cwrongfully detained in December of 2024\u201d to leave the country. \u201cShe is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,\u201d he said, while the woman was named by her lawyer as Dena Karari, a dual American and Iranian citizen.<\/p>\n
Oil prices continued to rise amid the latest waves of escalation, with Brent crude oil \u2013 the international standard \u2013 trading above $85 a barrel on Wednesday. That\u2019s more than 15% higher than the price before the war but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the peak of the conflict.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.44 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Images on the newswires show the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike last night at al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Near daily Israeli attacks have continued in Gaza despite a ceasefire announced in October, killing 1,127 Palestinians and injuring 3,643 since then, according to the Gaza health ministry. In its daily report, the ministry said four people were killed in the past 24 hours, and 28 were wounded.<\/p>\n Palestinians save their belongings from destroyed buildings following an Israeli airstrike last night, at al-Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana\/APPalestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike at the al-Bureij refugee camp. Photograph: Eyad Baba\/AFP\/Getty ImagesPalestinians look for their belongiongs at the site of an Israeli strike at al-Bureij refugee camp. Photograph: Eyad Baba\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Netanyahu will not travel to US next week, his office says<\/p>\n Reuters has reported that Benjamin Netanyahu will not travel to the US next \u2060week \u200bbecause the \u200cfuneral \u200cof Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has been \u200cpostponed until the end of \u200bthe month, the Israeli prime minister\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n Earlier Israeli reports suggested Netanyahu had been set to fly to Washington on Saturday to attend memorial events for Graham, who died on Saturday, and potentially meet Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.20 EDT<\/p>\n Israel tells US it will keep troops in occupied ‘security zones’ in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza<\/p>\n In a conversation last night, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz told US defence secretary Pete Hegseth that Israel is determined to keep its forces in occupied \u201csecurity zones\u201d in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, according to a statement from Katz\u2019s office reported in Israeli media.<\/p>\n Katz \u201cemphasised Israel\u2019s determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon in order to protect Israel\u2019s borders and the communities near the border from the threats posed by jihadist forces\u201d, the statement said.<\/p>\n It appears to contradict an earlier announcement by the US that negotiations held this week in Rome between Israel and Lebanon were \u201cpositive\u201d and that the process of implementing \u201cpilot zones\u201d, from which Israeli troops are to withdraw, would begin \u201cin the coming days\u201d. Beirut has demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces in areas they are occupying in southern Lebanon and for control to be handed over to the Lebanese army.<\/p>\n An Israeli flag hangs from a building in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border. Photograph: Shir Torem\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.23 EDT<\/p>\n India orders shipowners to avoid sending Indian crew members on Hormuz routes<\/p>\n India\u2019s government has ordered shipowners not to deploy Indian crew members on vessels that require passing through the strait of Hormuz as violence escalates in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cNo deployment of Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages \u2060involving passage through the strait of Hormuz until further orders,\u201d \u200bIndia\u2019s directorate general \u200cof shipping said \u200cin an order issued last night.<\/p>\n A vessel in the strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman. Photograph: Reuters<\/p>\n The advisory cited recent attacks on two ships in the strait that killed two Indian seafarers, adding that this week\u2019s heightened tensions in the region \u201chave increased the risks faced by seafarers and commercial ships operating in the conflict-afflicted area significantly\u201d.<\/p>\n Reuters reported India is the world\u2019s third-largest supplier of seafarers, with more than 300,000 sailors \u2060working across global shipping fleets, according to government data.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said Tehran did not want to confront its regional neighbours, despite an earlier statement<\/a> by another military official threatening to \u201ccrush\u201d infrastructure across the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has no conflict with the neighbouring and Islamic countries of the region and has always emphasised the development of cooperation and brotherly relations with the countries of the region,\u201d he said, according to Iran\u2019s semi-official Fars news agency.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.12 EDT<\/p>\n Iran threatens to destroy regional infrastructure if its own is attacked<\/p>\n Iran has warned it would retaliate if its infrastructure is attacked, after Trump threatened that the US military could target Iranian bridges.<\/p>\n In a statement carried by state media, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military\u2019s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, said \u201call infrastructure in the region will be crushed\u201d.<\/p>\n He also said Iran would never allow the US to interefere with the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder no circumstances and in no way will we allow the United States, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the strait of Hormuz. This is Iran\u2019s inviolable red line.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.17 EDT<\/p>\n Pakistan has called on the US and Iran<\/a> to end the violence and resume negotiations as stipulated in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June with Islamabad\u2019s mediation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the implementation of the MoU is facing challenges, Pakistan will continue to encourage all sides to end the violence and resume technical level talks in accordance with the MoU,\u201d Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign ministry, said at a press briefing today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> The US has fired on an oil tanker attempting to reach Kharg Island in the strait of Hormuz as part of its blockade on Iranian ports, as Tehran came under attack for the first time in this latest round of strikes.<\/p>\n The US said on Thursday morning it had disabled an unladen oil tanker, during a fifth day of strikes, firing Hellfire missiles into the ship\u2019s smokestack after it ignored multiple warnings.<\/p>\n On Wednesday evening, the US targeted coastal defences and missile sites, hours after a separate round of strikes that hit cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran\u2019s Greater Tunb Island in the morning.<\/p>\n The US also hit targets further north, with state media reporting strikes on the country\u2019s capital, Tehran, and reports of air defences being heard throughout the city early on Thursday.<\/p>\n Read the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Opening summary: US strikes expand to northern Iran<\/p>\n Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Middle East crisis.<\/p>\n![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Jonathan_Yerushalmy.png\")
Jonathan Yerushalmy<\/p>\n