{"id":540486,"date":"2026-07-09T05:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/540486\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:55:09","slug":"us-carries-out-new-attacks-on-iran-trump-says-agreement-to-halt-fighting-is-over-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/540486\/","title":{"rendered":"US carries out new attacks on Iran, Trump says agreement to halt fighting is \u2018over\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US<\/a> carried out another round of strikes on Iran<\/a> on Wednesday night, hours after president Donald Trump<\/a> said that recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> signalled the end of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Military officials said in a social media post that the strikes were intended to \u201cfurther degrade\u201d Iran\u2019s ability \u201cto threaten freedom of navigation\u201d in the strait.<\/p>\n

The action comes just a day after the US military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran\u2019s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.<\/p>\n

The social media post said that the US \u201cis holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway\u201d.<\/p>\n

At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Iranian state media reported explosions, including in the port city of Bandar Abbas on the strait and in Sirik, another southern coastal city.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Trump renewed his past threats to strike Iran\u2019s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinisation plants, and to seize the oil production hub of Kharg Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit them very hard last night,\u201d Trump said when asked about a possible return to hostilities. \u201cWe\u2019ll probably hit them hard again tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking on the sidelines of a Nato<\/a> summit in Ankara, Turkey<\/a>, Trump said the strikes are continued retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are behaving very badly,\u201d he said of Iran, accusing the country of launching drones and a missile at ships.<\/p>\n

After three tankers were hit on Tuesday, the US launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by attacking American military sites in the Gulf.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0No strait answer as US and Iran are stuck in cycle of strikesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The latest exchange of fire raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, and Trump fuelled those concerns by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was \u201cover\u201d, although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.<\/p>\n

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Trump\u2019s comments added new uncertainty and oil<\/a> prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial to the global economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I think it\u2019s over,\u201d Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can talk, but I think they\u2019re wasting their time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island at previous points in the war, including last month. Some 90 per cent of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.<\/p>\n

The renewed attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

Hardliners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.<\/p>\n

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the multiday funeral for Iran\u2019s former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28th in the war\u2019s first moments. The funeral, which ends on Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.<\/p>\n

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran\u2019s disputed nuclear programme.<\/p>\n

\"USUS president Donald Trump speaks to the media at a news conference at the Nato summit in Ankara on Wednesday with several members of his administration nearby. Photograph: Kerem Uzel\/Bloomberg <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s ability to bring shipping in the waterway to a near halt during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage. Rising prices for energy supplies, fertiliser and food put pressure on the US to make a deal.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, spiked more than 5 per cent after Trump\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including in Bandar Mahshahr, where a Revolutionary Guard member was killed. It also reported attacks on Bushehr, home to Iran\u2019s nuclear power plant complex.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Israel prepares for possibility of renewed full-scale war following US attacks on IranOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, both Bahrain, home to the US navy\u2019s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to US army forces, sounded missile alerts. The Revolutionary Guard issued a statement acknowledging targeting US military installations in both countries.<\/p>\n

After the Iranian strikes on shipping, the US revoked a licence that \u2013 for the first time in years \u2013 had allowed Iran to conduct oil sales openly in US dollars, as part of the interim deal. Iran long had been suspected of selling sanctioned crude at below-market prices to China.<\/p>\n

Iran and the US agreed as part of the interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran has insisted it must control the vessels\u2019 routes and vowed to later charge fees for passage.<\/p>\n

That would upend decades of practice in the waterway. The ships attacked on Tuesday all appeared to be using a route close to Oman\u2019s shore, rather than one ordered by Tehran.<\/p>\n

The US and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait. \u2013 AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US carried out another round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday night, hours after president Donald Trump…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540487,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[969,42,11829,3410,150432,156969,43,3026,6000,150177,40,38,41,39,20966,9688,115,58419],"class_list":["post-540486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-israel-iran-conflict","tag-mojtaba-khamenei","tag-news","tag-north-atlantic-treaty-organisation-nato","tag-oil","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-trump-presidency","tag-ukraine-crisis","tag-united-states","tag-volodymyr-zelenskiy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}