Trump Threatens to Resume Iran Strikes After Attacks on Tankers and US Warships

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The prospects for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran have reached the most perilous point since the two warring parties agreed to a ceasefire in April . A day after ordering the most intense wave of airstrikes on Iran since that agreement went into effect, President Donald Trump on Wednesday proclaimed that he could resume striking Iran as early as tonight and restore the naval blockade after saying he believed the ceasefire was over.

His comments came after Iran attacked tanker ships in the Strait of Hormuz. There were also unconfirmed reports that Iran fired missiles and drones at U.S. warships.

Iran launched anti-ship missiles and drones at U.S. Navy warships operating in the Sea of Oman. All missiles and drones have been intercepted.

— C14 News | EN (@c14english) July 8, 2026

Meanwhile, Iranian official media declared that the Memorandum of Understanding extending the ceasefire for 60 days to continue negotiations, worked out in Pakistan, is no longer in effect.

“The Islamabad Agreement is Dead,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-connected Tasnim media outlet stated on Telegram .

The Iranian news agency Tasnim claims that Trump has officially declared the Islamabad agreement to be over: "This agreement was already dead from the beginning, due to the Americans' failure to fulfill their commitments, and tonight, its death was officially recognized."

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) July 8, 2026

This latest and most serious flare-up of tensions came after Iran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as we reported . The attacks came during a pause in negotiations for the week-long funeral procession for the former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli attacks.

CrThrong of mourners heading toward Jamkaran Mosque in Qom to honor Ali Khameni, the former Supreme Leader killed on the first day of Epic Fury. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor)

In response to those attacks, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it hit 85 targets across southern Iran, including “air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor.”

Wednesday morning, Trump amped up the rhetoric during several bilateral meetings at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey.

“We hit them very hard last night — very, very hard — and we’ll probably hit them hard again tonight,” Trump proffered. “They’re cuckoo. There’s something wrong with these people. For 47 years, they’ve been the bully of the Middle East… It’s very simple: they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

. @POTUS on Iran: "We hit them very hard last night — very, very hard — and we'll probably hit them hard again tonight… They're cuckoo. There's something wrong with these people. For 47 years, they've been the bully of the Middle East… It's very simple: they can't have a… pic.twitter.com/FtZH8l1f8L

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026

Trump also shed additional light on yesterday’s attacks by CENTCOM.

“We attacked Kharg Island last night, knocked out a piece,” Trump stated. “I said, ‘Don’t touch the oil, because maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island.’ We may take over Kharg Island. It’s not a thing they can do about it, but I said, ‘Don’t hit the pipes, just hit everything else,’ and they hit it. They may hit it again tonight.”

You can read about what it would take to attack Kharg Island in our story here .

. @POTUS : "We're not attacking at the highest level. The highest level are the bridges…their electric plants, where they make their electricity. If we have to, we'll take them out. I don't want to do that, but if we have to, we'll take them out…We attacked Kharg Island last… pic.twitter.com/uOrtCVL0Fk

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026

Trump also hinted that the naval blockade on Iran, lifted when the MoU was signed on June 17, might be resumed.

“And we may put down the blockade,” the American leader suggested. “We may put it back… and it will only be a blockade for Iran.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon was prepared to resume attacks at an even higher level.

“Anything used to harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Anything they thought they had rebuilt or capability they were using was a target last night—and tonight, if we need to, on your order, Mr. President, we will hit even more, and even deeper,” he said.

. @SecWar on the targets of last night's strikes on Iran: "Anything used to harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Anything they thought they had rebuilt or capability they were using was a target last night—and tonight, if we need to, on your order, Mr. President, we will hit… pic.twitter.com/NH9rPqfxrO

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026

All this came after Trump professed that the ceasefire had ended.

“To me, I think it’s over,” Trump exclaimed. “I don’t want to deal with them, but they’re scum. You know what scum is? They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it.”

. @POTUS on the status of the ceasefire with Iran: "To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum… They're led by sick people… I'll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate—they're good people… but they have to come back to me. As far… pic.twitter.com/6eYfwMxSdn

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026

Iran, for its part, said that it struck 85 targets in Kuwait and Bahrain after the U.S. attacks.

Iran targets 85 key US military sites in response to US aggression

Iran launched attacks on 85 key US military sites early today in retaliation for US aggression and broken promises by the US terrorist army. pic.twitter.com/1wXnab47L0

— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) July 8, 2026

Kuwaiti officials said they downed all the missiles and drones fired at them.

المتحدث باسم وزارة الدفاع العقيد الركن سعود العطوان: القوات المسلحة رصدت فجر اليوم صاروخين باليستيين معاديين و13 مسيّرة معادية اخترقت المجال الجوي الكويتي

– أكد اعتراضها والتعامل معها بنجاح.. ولم يسفر ذلك عن أي أضرار مادية أو إصابات بشرية #كونا #الكويت pic.twitter.com/Vzb0fUJ9s2

— كونا KUNA (@kuna_ar) July 8, 2026

A U.S. official told us that damage to American facilities in the region was minimal.

“Regarding last night: No U.S. injuries. All missiles and drones fired by Iran were intercepted or failed to hit anything or cause major damage,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. “Bottom line, Iran’s response was defeated.”

As for the future of negotiations, as we noted earlier in this story, Iran is also painting a grim picture.

“Trump, the self-proclaimed terrorist, officially announced the end of the Islamabad Agreement; an agreement that, although earnestly pursued by Iranian negotiators who emphasized the continuation of the struggle and acknowledged that dishonesty is inherent in the United States, was from the beginning clearly understood to be an agreement that would not be honored by the Americans, especially if Iran insisted on its rights,” Tasnim stated. “Trump and the terrorist U.S. government failed to implement the most important clause of the agreement, Clause 1, from the very beginning. Despite the efforts of officials, this agreement was essentially dead from the start, due to the Americans’ broken promises, and only last night was its death officially announced.”

The Islamic Republic has declared the Islamabad Agreement and MOU officially dead, saying it now has a “clearer mandate” to confront the U.S., Israel, and their allies across the region and beyond.

Coming after President Trump declared the MOU finished, the regime is now… https://t.co/Qr77xwj2Uo pic.twitter.com/mbyweccnd6

— The Iran Watcher (@TheIranWatcher) July 8, 2026

Aside from taking swipes at Iran, Trump also lashed out at Spain for failing to allow the U.S. to have access to its airspace during Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. has several key military installations there, including Naval Station Rota and Moron Air Base. Both facilities had been used as staging grounds ahead of the attack on Iran .

“Spain is a terrible partner in NATO,” Trump complained at a news conference in Ankara with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. “They don’t participate. They don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits.”

Meanwhile, Rutte noted that Spain was an outlier when it came to supporting the U.S. war.

“I would say these are isolated cases; 5000 planes taking off from European airports in support of Epic Fury, it does Europe as one big platform of power projection for the United States, helping with Epic Fury,” Rutte explained.

. @POTUS : "Spain is a wasted cause. We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore by the way… Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain." pic.twitter.com/3prqux6p54

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026

As we have frequently seen since Operation Epic Fury was launched, tough talk from Trump or the Iranians does not always translate into action and things can and have quickly changed. Still, given what is at stake, we will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates when warranted.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

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