Donald Trump says latest strikes are ‘retribution’ for Iran bombing ships
Alongside a picture purporting to be an explosion in Chabahar, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social this evening: This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Updated at 17.53 EDT
Key events
Iran to bury Khamenei in hometown as US ramps up strikes
Iranians were preparing on Thursday to bury their slain leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran, as new US strikes threatened to trigger a fresh escalation in the Middle East war.
The late supreme leader’s burial follows a multi-day funeral ceremony that attracted millions of mourners across various cities in both Iran and Iraq.
Here are some images of those scenes across Iran in recent days.
Mourners gather outside the Imam Hussein Shrine to attend the procession of the funeral of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 08 July 2026 in Karbala, Iraq. c Photograph: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images
Khamenei was killed on 28 February, the first day of the US-Israeli strikes that started the war.
Mourners carry the coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei during a funeral procession at the Imam Ali shrine in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf on 8 July 2026. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
After a marathon procession through the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday, he was to reach his final place of rest in the holy city of Mashhad.
Mourners gather outside the Imam Ali Shrine to attend the funeral procession of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 08 July 2026 in Najaf, Iraq. Photograph: ATPImages/Getty Images
Mashhad governor Hassan Hosseini was quoted on state television as saying he “expects 15 million people” to attend Khamenei’s funeral.
A mourner reacts during a memorial ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, 08 July 2026. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA
According to the official IRNA news agency, Khamenei is to be buried Thursday evening in the Shrine of Imam Reza – Iran’s most revered place of worship. Imam Reza is the only one of the 12 Shia imams buried in Iran.
Amid fear the war in Iran could be reignited, on Wednesday UN chief Antonio Guterres called “on all parties to exercise maximum restraint” – as did Pakistan, a key mediator in the US-Iran talks.
Iran said foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatar’s prime minister had spoken over the phone on Wednesday and “underscored the importance of using diplomatic means to resolve regional issues”.
US strikes today targeted a maritime traffic control tower and a depot in Iran’s South-eastern port of Chabahar, a local official told Fars news agency.
Separately, Iran’s Mehr news agency said that explosions were also heard in Iran’s South-eastern city of Iranshahr.
Mohsen Rezaei, a military advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, wrote on X “the aggressor enemy and its accomplices will be severely punished”.
ShareUS senator Bernie Sanders condemns strikes
The US senator Bernie Sanders said “restarting his reckless war with Iran won’t make America stronger. It will cost more lives and waste more taxpayer dollars”.
In a post on X, he added that “after getting the United States into a war based on lies, Trump has now declared the ceasefire with Iran ‘over’ after less than a month”.
Updated at 17.53 EDT
Donald Trump says latest strikes are ‘retribution’ for Iran bombing ships
Alongside a picture purporting to be an explosion in Chabahar, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social this evening: This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Updated at 17.53 EDT
Iran’s ISNA news agency reported two out of three power lines that were cut off by US air strikes on Chabahar have now been restored. And the third power line will soon be operational again.
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported the U.S air strikes targeted two marine piers and a maritime traffic control tower in the Iranian port city of Chabahar, adding the separate attacks on Bushehr province in southern Iran did not cause damage to the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Haroon Janjua
Fatemeh Aman, an Iran expert and a former non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute and a former senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told The Guardian: “The latest attacks raise the risk of renewed escalation, but whether they develop into a broader conflict will depend on the responses of all parties.
“No major actor seems to benefit from an open-ended regional war. However, repeated military exchanges increase the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation. At the same time, channels for de-escalation remain open, making the situation highly fluid.
“The economic impact is already visible. Even limited attacks can push up oil prices, increase shipping and insurance costs, and undermine investor confidence, particularly if tensions affect the Strait of Hormuz. If the conflict remains contained, the economic damage may be temporary.
“However, a sustained cycle of attacks or disruption to maritime traffic would have much broader consequences for regional stability and the global economy.”
State media also reported explosions were heard in Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex.
ShareUS strikes Iran after Trump threats – what we know so far
Iran’s Mehr agency said explosions were heard near Konarak and Chabahr. Iranian reports also said air defenses were engaging “hostile targets” near Bandar Abbas. Iranian state TV reported further explosions are heard in Abu Musa Island, one of three small islands that are claimed by the United Arab Emirates and provide the backbone of Iran’s hold over the strait of Hormuz.
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X: “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 unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Wednesday’s strikes against Iran expected to be bigger than those carried out on Tuesday, an unnamed U.S. official told Reuters.
Iran’s Nournews cites military source as saying that Iranian armed forces to launch a “massive” attack on U.S army bases in the region shortly.
Updated at 17.38 EDT