The United States and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes during the past 48 hours, reigniting direct hostilities despite a recently announced peace memorandum of understanding (MoU). The US said it targeted dozens of Iranian military sites to curb threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran claimed the U.S. attacks killed at least 14 people and wounded 78 before launching retaliatory missile strikes against American military facilities across the region.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces carried out an additional round of strikes on July 8 targeting Iran’s military infrastructure to further degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said US forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. The operation followed another wave of strikes on July 7, during which around 80 military targets were hit, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) small boats. The US military said the operations were intended to impose heavy costs on Iran after it allegedly violated the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
“US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief,” CENTCOM said in its statement.
Iran Says U.S. Strikes Kill 14
According to Iranian state media, citing a Health Ministry official, at least 14 people were killed and 78 others injured in US strikes across five Iranian provinces over the past two days despite the ceasefire MoU between Tehran and Washington.
Iranian state news agency also reported that passenger train services on the Tehran–Mashhad railway were disrupted after US attack damaged part of the railway line early Thursday.
Iran Claims Retaliatory Strikes on US Military Facilities
Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran Army launched fresh attacks on US military installations across the region in retaliation for what Tehran described as deadly American strikes that violated the war-ending memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries. According to the reports, the initial wave of retaliatory attacks targeted key US military infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out a second wave of retaliatory operations, claiming to have fired 10 ballistic missiles at a US command-and-control centre in West Asia and the Al-Azraq airbase in Jordan. The IRGC warned that additional US military bases across the region would face further attacks if Washington continued its military operations against Iran.
On July 8, the IRGC claimed that it had struck 85 US military targets in retaliation for American airstrikes on Iranian coastal positions.
The latest escalation follows earlier Iranian missile strikes targeting US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, signalling that the conflict is expanding despite diplomatic efforts to preserve the peace understanding.
With both Washington and Tehran accusing each other of violating the ceasefire arrangement, fears are growing that the confrontation could further destabilise the Gulf region, threaten global energy supplies, and increase security risks along one of the world’s busiest maritime trade corridors.