{"id":516601,"date":"2026-07-08T23:21:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T23:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/516601\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T23:21:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T23:21:18","slug":"us-launches-fresh-strikes-on-iran-after-trump-calls-leadership-scum-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/516601\/","title":{"rendered":"US launches fresh strikes on Iran after Trump calls leadership ‘scum’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US has launched a series of additional strikes on Iran after a barrage yesterday, following assaults on commercial shipping.<\/p>\n

In a statement today, US Central Command said: “At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US 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”. <\/p>\n

“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”<\/p>\n

The most recent strikes come after President Donald Trump threatened to unleash against Iran, saying Iranian attacks signalled the end of the ceasefire. But he later said the exchange <\/a>with the Islamic Republic did not herald a return to full-scale war.<\/p>\n

He called the Iranian leadership “scum” and “cuckoo”. <\/p>\n

“I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them any more. They’re scum… they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people,” he said. <\/p>\n

“We make a deal… They go outside, talk to the press, they say ‘we never even talked about it’. There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoo. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A screenshot from footage of a strike on Iran carried out by US forces shared on X. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Trump, who is known for sending mixed messages about his intentions, has repeatedly threatened to escalate strikes against Iran, only to pull back after claiming diplomatic progress. He said that the US would \u201cprobably hit them hard again tonight\u201d, and later added that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in \u201clong-term\u201d military action.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the US military might \u201cjust finish the job\u201d.<\/p>\n

A day after assaults on commercial shipping escalated into an exchange of strikes on Iranian and US military targets, Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran\u2019s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalination plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, 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. After three tankers were hit yesterday, the US launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by attacking American military sites in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X: \u201cThe era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don\u2019t fold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strikes raise fears that war could resume<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A screenshot from footage of a strike on Iran carried out by US forces shared on X. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Recent exchanges of fire raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, and Trump fueled 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 shaky ceasefire, but Trump’s comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke<\/a>. 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. \u201cThey can talk, but I think they\u2019re wasting their time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump’s remarks \u201care not a sign of power but an admission of the failure\u201d of US policy toward Iran.<\/p>\n

Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island at previous points in the war, including last month, when he also questioned whether the US \u201chas the stomach for it\u201d. Some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.<\/p>\n

The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran’s leadership. Hard-liners 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 dayslong funeral<\/a> for Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in the war\u2019s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried by mourners to the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

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

US military says it hit air defences and small boats<\/p>\n

The US military\u2019s Central Command yesterday said American forces launched strikes \u201cto impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway\u201d.<\/p>\n

The military said it hit Iranian targets including air-defence systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.<\/p>\n

Those boats have been key to threatening ships in the strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war. Iran\u2019s ability to bring shipping in the waterway to a near halt during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage.<\/p>\n

Rising prices for energy supplies, fertiliser, and food put pressure on the US to make a deal.<\/p>\n

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including in Bandar Mahshahr, where a Revolutionary Guard member was killed. State television said eight members of the Army’s air and naval forces were killed in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr; the latter is home to Iran\u2019s nuclear power plant complex.<\/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

Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones launched by Iran. The Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry said a number of lines were out of service after shrapnel fell on them.<\/p>\n

US revokes licence allowing the sale of Iranian oil<\/p>\n

After the Iranian strikes on shipping, the US revoked a license that \u2014 for the first time in years \u2014 had allowed Iran to conduct oil sales openly in US dollars, as part of the interim deal.<\/p>\n

Iran and the United States 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. That would upend decades of practice in the waterway. The ships attacked 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.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi and other Iranian and Iraqi officials attended funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf.<\/p>\n

Khamenei\u2019s body will be returned to Iran to be buried Friday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US has launched a series of additional strikes on Iran after a barrage yesterday, following assaults on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,5107,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-516601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}