Washington: US forces conducted strikes against Iran for a second straight day to “degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the United States Central Command has announced.
At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent…
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 8, 2026
U.S. carries out more strikes in Iran – Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, and more locations. pic.twitter.com/d9HgZlpcfR
— Emily Schrader – אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) July 8, 2026
The United States is “holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” the command said in a post on X on Wednesday (Washington time).
More than 20 US Navy warships were patrolling waters across the Middle East on Wednesday, the command said in an earlier post.
Today, more than 20 U.S. Navy warships are patrolling waters across the Middle East as CENTCOM forces continue promoting regional security and stability. Last month, U.S. naval warships and aircraft transited the Arabian Sea in close formation, demonstrating unmatched American… pic.twitter.com/gnfRIKAYJl
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 8, 2026
Explosions, the result of possible U.S. strikes against a rail bridge, were heard earlier in the Golestan Province of Northeastern Iran, bordering the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan. Golestan hasn’t been targeted since the height of the Iran War, particularly in March 2026. pic.twitter.com/E7PiCBrul9
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 8, 2026
The move came after US President Donald Trump warned at the NATO summit in Ankara earlier the same day that the US military would probably hit Iran again, reports Xinhua news agency.
“I’ll give a little warning: We’re going to hit them hard tonight,” Trump said, adding that he did not expect a full-fledged conflict with Iran.
BREAKING: President Trump says the US will be hitting Iran “HARD” tonight
Looks like he wasn’t kidding about that ceasefire ending.
“I’ll give them a little warning: we’re going to hit them HARD tonight.” pic.twitter.com/72L5qUU283
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 8, 2026
pic.twitter.com/cyq3vlE7uZ
— Department of War (@DeptofWar) July 8, 2026
Following Trump’s remarks at the summit, Iran’s Press TV, citing an informed source, reported that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz and strike twice as many targets given any fresh US attack.
The developments came as the United States and Iran traded fresh attacks from Tuesday night into Wednesday, marking a new round of escalation.
Meanwhile, several blasts were heard Wednesday night in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province as the US Central Command said its forces conducted strikes against Iran for a second straight day.
The explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Sirik counties and the Iranian Island of Abu Musa, Iranian media said.
State-run IRIB news agency reported three explosions were also heard in the southeastern Chabahar County, putting at eight the total number of blasts in Bandar Abbas, where the air defence has become activated.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)