US forces carry out new attacks on Iran after Trump declares that deal is "over"

By Humeyra Pamuk and Gram Slattery and Tala Ramadan

ANKARA/DUBAI, Jul 8 (Reuters) - The US military announced on Wednesday that it was launching new attacks against Iran with the aim of keeping the strategic Strait of Hormuz open to traffic, just hours after President Donald Trump declared that an interim agreement to end the war was "closed".

The latest round of attacks, which the United States says was launched in response to Tuesday's attack on three cargo ships transiting the strait, has rocked several cities along Iran's southern coast and left some areas without power.

"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces have begun carrying out additional strikes against Iran to further weaken the country's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM, the U.S. Middle East military command, wrote in X.

"The United States is holding Iran accountable for the recent unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway."

Wednesday's attacks on Iran will be greater in number than those carried out on Tuesday, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"This is in retaliation for the bombing of ships by Iran yesterday. If this happens again, it will get much worse!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Control of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil supplies passed before the war began with US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran on February 28, gave Tehran immense advantage, allowing it to effectively force a standoff with the world's most powerful military. Although Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on the ships, analysts say Tehran uses such actions to gain an advantage in negotiations.

The latest escalation has dashed hopes of turning a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 into a permanent agreement to end the war. Iran said on Wednesday it attacked US military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to previous US attacks on infrastructure, which in turn were in retaliation for attacks on ships.

Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday whether the memorandum of understanding had come to an end, Trump said: "It's a very interesting question. For me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."

"If we make a deal with Iran, I'm not sure it's going to last," Trump said later. "I thought they were very dishonorable people."

But Trump, who repeatedly threatened to escalate military action before backing down, said he did not expect a return to full-scale war and that it was unclear whether negotiations to reach a permanent agreement would continue.

In a press conference this Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he didn't think the war would start again: "Whatever happens is going to be over very quickly... and it's only going to make the situation safer, including for oil."

The latest US attacks pushed oil prices up by more than $1 per barrel in post-market trading on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures trading at $79.28 per barrel. Even so, prices remained well below the late April peak of more than US$120 per barrel.

LARGE PORT CITY HIT BY ATTACKS

Iran's state news agency reported explosions in several cities along the country's southern coast, from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman. Among the locations hit was Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's largest port and key installations operated by both the Iranian Navy and the Revolutionary Guards.

Strikes also hit Konarak and Chabahar, where Iranian media reported power outages and damage to a maritime traffic control tower. Explosions were also reported in the southeastern city of Iranshahr, according to Mehr News Agency.

Nournews, affiliated with Iran's top security body, cited an Iranian military source as saying Iran planned to soon launch a "massive attack" on US military bases in the region in retaliation.

Before the new US strikes on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had said the US strikes violated the memorandum by disputing a clause that "emphasizes the responsibility of the Islamic Republic of Iran in determining measures for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz."

A spokesman for Parliament's National Security Committee said retaliatory options included withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), changing Iran's nuclear doctrine and closing the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea, another crucial global shipping route.

Source: Antena 1