Main points
The US military launched a series of strikes against Iran, US Central Command said Tuesday.The strikes were in response to what it said were Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.The new attacks by the US on Iran were “absolutely necessary”, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has said.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against key US military sites in Bandar Salman, Bahrain’s Fifth Naval District and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and shot down a US MQ9 drone.
Jack White – 1 minute ago
Iran warns neighbouring states not to allow US to use their territories
Iran’s foreign ministry has warned other countries in the region not to allow their territories to be used by the US to launch attacks.
In a statement carried by Iranian media following retaliatory strikes on US military-linked sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, the ministry also accused the US and Israel of violating the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington.
It said the “repeated” US attacks against Iran, Washington’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iranian oil exports, American interference in Tehran’s arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon have rendered it “ineffective”.
Jack White – 21 minutes ago
Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten has said it is important to show Iran that breaches of the “fragile” ceasefire in the Middle East will not be accepted.
“At the same time, you must apply maximum diplomatic pressure to make sure talks continue and a solution is reached,” Jetten told reporters before a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara.
Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten speaks upon arrival at the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Photograph: EPA
UK prime minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, said it was important for Nato leaders to show “unity and strength” as he arrived at the alliance’s summit.
“It’s really great to be here for what will turn out to be a very important Nato summit, with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, speaking to reporters at the Turkish presidential palace. – PA/Reuters
British prime minister Keir Starmer speaks to reporters as he arrives the Nato Summit in Ankara, Turkey. Photograph: Alastair Grant/PA Wire
Jack White – 40 minutes ago
Retaliatory strikes targeted 85 sites linked to US military, Iran says
Iran launched strikes at 85 sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in what it described as an “initial retaliatory operation” against the US, Iranian state media reports.
In a statement carried by the state’s IRNA news agency, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the strikes were in response to the “violation” of the Iran-US memorandum of understanding.
The 85 sites targeted in a joint missile and drone operation were linked to “important US military installations” in Bahrain’s Salman Port and its Fifth Naval District as well as the Ali Al-Salam Air Base in Kuwait.
Jack White – 57 minutes ago
Kuwait condemns Iranian attacks, Bahrain urges citizens to seek shelter
Kuwait’s foreign affairs ministry has condemned what it says are repeated Iranian attacks on its territory, the latest of which occurred this morning.
In a statement, it said Kuwait reserves the right to take “all necessary measures” to protect its sovereignty and security.
Meanwhile, sirens have been activated in Bahrain, with its interior ministry urging citizens to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.
The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place .
— Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) July 8, 2026
Iran said it had retaliated with strikes against Bahrain and Kuwait after the US attacks.
Rutte says new US strikes ‘absolutely necessary’ 
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte speaks at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey. Photograph: Necati Savas/EPA
The new attacks by the US on Iran were “absolutely necessary”, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has said.
“When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react,” Rutte told reporters before a summit of Nato leaders in Ankara.
Nato’s European leaders are aiming to convince Donald Trump to re-commit to the military alliance at the summit after the US president revived his disputes with them over the Iran war and Greenland.
Following his arrival in the Turkish capital on Tuesday, Trump said he might have boycotted the summit had it not been for his friendship with the host, Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan, and he did not rule out further troop withdrawals from Europe.
Earlier in the day, Nato sought to demonstrate that its European members were heeding Trump’s calls to spend more on their own defence and rely less on the US by unveiling a raft of arms deals worth at least €50 billion.
Trump, who has harshly criticised Nato during both his first and second terms in office, said he was “very disappointed” with the alliance and that the US was not “treated well” during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
“Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them,” Trump said in an appearance on Tuesday alongside Erdogan.
Bahrain and Kuwait targeted
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against key US military sites in Bandar Salman, Bahrain’s Fifth Naval District and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and shot down a US MQ9 drone.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, officials said.
The Kuwaiti army said air defences were confronting “hostile” missile and drone attacks.
Iranian media earlier reported explosions in Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island, on Qeshm Island and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Iran’s Press TV reported several blasts were heard in southern Kharg Island.
Iran accuses ‘child-killing’ US army of breaching ceasefire
A cargo ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran. Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/AP
A statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the “child-killing and terrorist US army” had “openly violated the ceasefire” with attacks on coastal bases and civilian stations.
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of committing “major” violations of the initial ceasefire deal between the two parties, known as the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
In a post on X, he said the violations included persistent threats of further strikes, reinstating oil sanctions and attacks on southern Iran.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold,” Ghalibaf said.
Three civilian vessels were hit in the strait on Tuesday – the most in a single day since late April, according to UN International Maritime Organisation figures.
In response, maritime authorities have raised the threat level from “substantial” to “severe”.
The renewed hostilities threaten to again disrupt shipping transiting the Gulf channel and cause difficulties in securing a permanent end to the conflict, launched by the US and Israel on February 28th.
US forces attack Iranian targets
US forces said they launched “over 80” strikes on Iranian targets in response to Iran’s targeting of tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said it had retaliated with strikes against Bahrain and Kuwait.
The attacks came just hours after Washington also pulled Tehran’s license to sell oil, which was only issued last month following an interim ceasefire deal.
The strategic waterway remains a flashpoint in the fragile truce, having sparked a previous exchange of fire between the two sides after a cargo ship was struck, threatening the agreement aimed at ending the war.
In a statement on X early on Wednesday, the American military said: “US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces completed a new round of offensive strikes against Iran, July 7, hitting over 80 targets with precision munitions as an immediate response to Iran’s latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“US forces struck Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor.”
The statement said the “unwarranted aggression by Iranian forces” marked a “clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation”.