Updated on: July 8, 2026 / 9:05 PM EDT / CBS News. The United States military carried out another series of strikes against Iran late Wednesday, marking a second consecutive night of military action as diplomatic relations between the two nations seem to be collapsing. According to U.S. Central Command, these operations were ordered by President Trump in direct response to Iranian attacks on three commercial oil tankers earlier in the week. CENTCOM stated on X that the objective of the mission is to further degrade Iran’s capacity to threaten freedom of navigation within the Strait of Hormuz.
While the U.S. military has not provided specific details regarding the scale or success of the strikes, Iranian state media reported hearing explosions in various cities, including the southern port of Bandar Abbas. The regional situation remains volatile, as Kuwait reported confronting hostile missile and drone activity early Thursday morning, and emergency sirens were activated in Bahrain. Although neither nation explicitly identified the origin of these threats, previous U.S. military action against Iran has frequently been followed by Iranian counterattacks targeting U.S.-allied Gulf states.
The escalation follows a series of incidents beginning Monday and Tuesday, when Iran targeted three oil tankers. In response, the Trump administration retaliated on Tuesday by striking dozens of locations inside Iran and revoking a sanctions waiver that had permitted Iran to conduct international oil sales. During a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday, President Trump expressed deep pessimism regarding diplomacy, characterizing the Iranian leadership as “sick” and stating that dealing with them is “a waste of time.”
Addressing the state of the three-month-old ceasefire, which has been consistently undermined by recurring hostilities, Mr. Trump told reporters, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.” The President had earlier vowed to hit Iran hard again and, following the start of Wednesday’s operation, warned on Truth Social that conditions would worsen if Iran continues to target ships. While acknowledging that he would allow negotiators to continue their work if they chose to, the President indicated he saw little value in further discussions.
