An interim truce between the US and Iran has reportedly ended, with President Donald Trump declaring it “over” as the Middle East crisis intensifies. The US military announced it struck 170 Iranian targets over two nights, while Iran launched retaliatory attacks on American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, indicating a precarious escalation in the region.
US Central Command (Centcom) stated that the intense bombing campaign was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the strait of Hormuz.” These strikes, carried out over 48 hours, reportedly resulted in 14 deaths and 78 injuries across five Iranian provinces on July 7 and 8, according to Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations for Iran’s health ministry. Of those injured, 47 remain hospitalized.
Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities, primarily in the country’s south, including the Bushehr province, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex. In response to the US actions, Iran’s army targeted a US Patriot missile system in Kuwait, an early warning satellite antenna site in Qatar, and fuel tanks belonging to the US military in Bahrain. Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar all sounded sirens as their air defense systems intercepted incoming Iranian drones and missiles, though no immediate damage was reported.
The Iranian foreign ministry vehemently condemned the US attacks, particularly strikes on two railway bridges on the route to Mashhad from Tehran, calling them a “gross war crime.” The ministry’s statement emphasized its resolute determination to defend Iran’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and national security. Following the railway bridge attacks, train services in Mashhad were suspended as technical and operational teams were dispatched to the scene.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, accused the US of violating the three-week truce. He warned, “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit. Don’t flail around pointlessly, or you’ll sink even deeper: the strait of Hormuz will only open with ‘Iranian arrangements,’ not American threats.” Qalibaf also vowed that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would remain under Iranian management.
The regional crossfire, ignited by a struggle for control over the narrow shipping channel, threatens to unravel the fragile interim truce. Both sides have pledged to escalate retaliations if provocations persist, with President Trump warning of worse to come and Iran threatening to expand its attacks against US bases.
International reactions have been swift. Kuwait’s foreign ministry condemned the Iranian attacks against its country, emphasizing that Kuwait’s sovereignty is “a red line” and reserving its full rights to protect its security. Qatar, which has played a key mediating role between the US and Iran, saw its prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, hold a phone call with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Hours earlier, Iran had announced striking a US target in Qatar, prompting the Gulf state to alert its population of an elevated threat level for the first time since an April ceasefire.
During their call, the Qatari prime minister condemned attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that such actions undermine trust, threaten international maritime security, and harm efforts to consolidate regional stability. The Qatari statement, however, did not specifically mention any Iranian attack on Qatar itself.
In a separate diplomatic development, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador in Tehran. This came two days after the UK had called in the Iranian charge d’affaires in London following the conviction of two Romanian men, George Stana and Nandito Badea, for a 2024 knife attack on Iranian-British journalist Pouria Zeraati. The UK Foreign Office stated that a judge concluded the attack was carried out “in the interests of, and on behalf of, the Iranian state.” The ministry said its director general for western Europe, Alireza Yousefi, handed the ambassador a protest note rejecting what he called “baseless and false” allegations made by British officials of security threats posed by Iran, accusing the UK of fabricating claims to divert attention from its own conduct and its support for Israel.
These fresh strikes coincide with the preparations for the burial of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in his hometown of Mashhad. His multi-day funeral ceremony has drawn millions of mourners across various cities in Iran and Iraq, adding a layer of national mourning to the escalating conflict.
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the continuing crisis in the Middle East.
Bombing civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime if they “are not military objectives”, according to international humanitarian law. My colleague Peter Beaumont explains more about the laws of armed conflict here:
