{"id":19899,"date":"2026-07-08T21:25:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=19899"},"modified":"2026-07-08T21:25:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T15:40:01","slug":"trump-warns-of-further-heavy-strikes-on-iran-as-gulf-tensions-escalate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=19899","title":{"rendered":"Trump Warns of Further Heavy Strikes on Iran as Gulf Tensions Escalate<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dragon Media News Desk<\/strong><\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could launch another major military attack on Iran on Wednesday night, following an extensive round of strikes against more than 80 targets inside the country.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye, Trump said US forces had struck Iran heavily the previous night and could conduct another forceful operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hit them very hard last night. We will probably hit them very hard again tonight,\u201d Trump said, adding that he wanted to give Iran an advance warning. He did not disclose operational details about any planned attack.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s warning referred to the night of July 8.<\/p>\n

Earlier, US Central Command confirmed that American forces had carried out strikes against more than 80 targets in Iran on July 7. According to the US military, the operation targeted Iranian air-defence systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar installations, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 small vessels associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n

Washington described the military operation as retaliation for attacks on three commercial vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

The US administration blamed Iran for the incidents. Tehran, however, has not formally accepted direct responsibility for all three attacks. Iranian state media reported that one vessel had been struck after allegedly ignoring warnings, but did not clearly identify who carried out the attack.<\/p>\n

The International Maritime Organization confirmed that several commercial vessels had been attacked while passing through the Strait of Hormuz over the previous two days and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint.<\/p>\n

The organisation did not name the party responsible. Therefore, claims that Iran acted jointly with regional allies to target the vessels have not been independently established.<\/p>\n

Iran said it responded to the US strikes by launching missiles and drones against American military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.<\/p>\n

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that it struck 85 sites connected to US military operations, including areas associated with the US Fifth Fleet and Salman Port in Bahrain, as well as Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. It also claimed to have shot down a US MQ-9 drone.<\/p>\n

These Iranian claims could not immediately be independently verified.<\/p>\n

The Iranian military separately said it conducted a drone attack against the US presence at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.<\/p>\n

Tehran described the latest US operation as a violation of the ceasefire and the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed in June. Iranian officials warned that US military facilities across the region could become targets if American attacks continued.<\/p>\n

Several hours before announcing the possibility of further strikes, Trump said he considered the interim US\u2013Iran ceasefire to be effectively over. He nevertheless indicated that American representatives could continue diplomatic contacts, suggesting that dialogue had not been formally abandoned despite the renewed military confrontation.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry accused Washington of violating what it calls the Islamabad understanding by revoking a temporary sanctions waiver related to Iranian oil sales.<\/p>\n

According to Tehran, the memorandum was signed electronically on June 18 and was intended to establish a framework for ending the conflict permanently through negotiations. Iran said the United States had repeatedly violated both the letter and spirit of the agreement within 20 days of its signing.<\/p>\n

Trump also repeated his claim that the arrangement negotiated by his administration was more effective than the 2015 nuclear agreement reached under former president Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur deal completely prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,\u201d Trump said, arguing that the earlier agreement had left open a path toward nuclear weapons development.<\/p>\n

However, the June understanding was an interim framework for 60 days of negotiations rather than a final nuclear agreement. Major questions concerning Iran\u2019s enriched uranium stockpile, its broader nuclear programme and long-term international inspections were expected to be addressed in later talks.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s statement that the new arrangement had already resolved the nuclear issue should therefore be understood as a political claim rather than an independently established fact.<\/p>\n

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and gave the International Atomic Energy Agency responsibility for monitoring and verifying Iran\u2019s nuclear commitments.<\/p>\n

Although the agreement included time-limited provisions and remained politically controversial, the claim that it imposed no restrictions on Iran\u2019s nuclear activities is not consistent with the structure of the accord.<\/p>\n

During his remarks in Ankara, Trump also appeared to misspeak by referring to the \u201cIslamic Republic of Japan\u201d while discussing Iran.<\/p>\n

He claimed that the country had launched 111 missiles toward a US aircraft carrier and that American forces had intercepted all of them. The context indicated that he intended to refer to Iran, not Japan.<\/p>\n

Japan is not an adversarial participant in the conflict.<\/p>\n

No separate public confirmation from the Pentagon or US Central Command was immediately available for Trump\u2019s specific claim that 111 missiles had been fired at an American aircraft carrier. The figure should therefore be treated as a statement by the president rather than a confirmed military assessment.<\/p>\n

Trump also said US forces had destroyed around 28 Iranian small vessels during the previous night\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n

The official Central Command statement said more than 60 small vessels had been targeted, but \u201ctargeted\u201d does not necessarily mean all were destroyed. The precise scale of the damage remains unclear.<\/p>\n

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte accused Iran of violating the ceasefire and described the American response as necessary following the attacks on commercial shipping.<\/p>\n

The International Maritime Organization said hundreds of vessels and approximately 6,000 seafarers had been unable to leave safely from areas around the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf since the latest Middle East conflict began.<\/p>\n

It urged all parties not to turn commercial vessels and civilian seafarers into targets of geopolitical confrontation and called for immediate de-escalation.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world\u2019s most important maritime routes for oil and gas exports. Any prolonged disruption could affect Gulf security, international shipping, global energy supplies and oil prices.<\/p>\n

The latest exchanges between the United States and Iran have placed the recently established diplomatic process under severe pressure.<\/p>\n

Further American attacks could lead to new Iranian strikes against US military bases in the region, increasing the danger of a broader conflict extending beyond Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t