Iran war updates: Explosions as US forces carry out ‘additional strikes’

This live page is now closed, but our 24-hour coverage of the latest developments in the US attacks on Iran continues.

Join us for all the latest developments, analyses and reactions here.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a quick recap of the main developments today:

• US forces have launched “additional strikes” on Iran, with the US military’s Central Command saying the attacks were designed “to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.
• Iranian media reported explosions in Sirik, Bushehr, Konarak and Chabahar, with air defence systems activated in several areas.
• President Trump says the latest strikes were carried out in retaliation for what he described as Iran’s bombing of ships a day earlier. “If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on social media.
• This morning, the US president also told reporters that the MoU with Tehran was “over” before firing off a series of insults.
• In response to Trump’s comments at the NATO summit, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iranians “do not answer vulgarity with vulgarity, but with action: fearlessly and with great valor”.
• Two men were killed after being targeted by an Israeli drone strike in Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon as the death since March 2 rises to 4,321 people.

The global economy has been “broadly resilient” to the shock from the US-Israel war on Iran, but some effects of the conflict could linger, according to a joint statement from the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and World Trade Organization.

“Overall, the impact has been highly uneven, affecting energy supplies, food security, various commodities, and economic activity across many countries and regions and creating deeper concerns about growth and price stability,” the statement read.

The organisations pushed for further progress toward a resolution to the conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

While fuel and fertiliser prices have dropped since June, uncertainty remains high, with energy markets and transit of goods still facing strains, the organisations said.

“Governments and the international community should remain vigilant and continue to work together to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation in the Strait and globally, support economic recovery, protect jobs and livelihoods, strengthen energy and food security, including through improving port infrastructure and trade facilitation, and increase broader resilience to future shocks.”

Since the start of the war in 2023, Gaza’s civilian police force has come under sustained attack, weakening its capacity. Police vehicles have been destroyed and checkpoints abandoned by Gaza’s security forces.

“The Israeli army is heavily focusing on assassinating as many members of the Palestinian police as possible, with reports of more than 2,500 police personnel killed during the war of annihilation, in an effort to spread chaos, lawlessness, and destroy the social fabric in Gaza”, Ismail al-Thawabta, the spokesperson for Gaza’s Government Media Office, told Al Jazeera.

As the police presence diminished, a security vacuum emerged in many areas in the strip. And with fewer law enforcement personnel in the streets, the locals have turned to alternatives to settle disputes and maintain order. Community elders are increasingly stepping in to resolve disputes and help maintain order, with clan leaders and mediators taking on a larger role in preserving social stability.

Among them is Tawfiq Shalat, a well-known mediator in central Gaza. He says he and other community figures have intervened in thousands of disputes since the war began. “Community leaders and mediators are always on high alert and resolve disputes as soon as they arise. During the war, the police were unable to deploy normally, and our role was to intervene, mediate and prevent conflicts from escalating,” Shalat told Al Jazeera.

Community mediation is no longer the exception in Gaza. For a majority of people, it is now the first and often only path available to settle disputes in the devastated strip.

The majority of polls tend to show that the majority of Americans are not in favour of a prolonged conflict.

But these strikes are somewhat different – at least that is what the White House is arguing – in that these are limited in scale and scope and are, as the US president put it, retribution for the attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Politically, as long as the US president frames this as a limited action with the MoU still intact, there is likely to be better support for the president and his actions.

But at the same time, the US president has also intimated, as well as the vice president, JD Vance, that if Iran continues to strike, there will be further military air strikes by the US in so-called retaliation.

So, as you can see, it is a very dangerous precipice the US president is on, given he is trying to contain these strikes.

The US strikes were likely launched in response to the Iranian attacks on neutral civilian ships that were transiting Omani territorial waters, says David Des Roches, former Pentagon NATO operations director.

“The MoU required the US to lift its reciprocal blockade of Iran’s ports – which it did – [and it] required the US to waive sanctions for the Iranian sale of oil – which it did – and it required Iran to not interfere with civilian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” Des Roches told Al Jazeera.

When Iran attacked these ships, Tehran was trying to instil a new normal beyond the terms of the MoU, in which ships had to go through Iranian waters, and Iran would attack them if they did not, he explained.

“That’s unacceptable to President Trump. So these strikes are a retaliation to that action,” said Des Roches.

He said the Iranian response will be “typical”.

“It’s also quite possible that the attacks on the neutral civilian ships were launched by a Revolutionary Guard faction that was trying to derail the diplomatic process,” he added.

US Senator Bernie Sanders says “restarting his reckless war with Iran won’t make America stronger. It will cost more lives and waste more taxpayer dollars”.

In a post on X, he added that “after getting the United States into a war based on lies, Trump has now declared the ceasefire with Iran ‘over’ after less than a month”.

After getting the United States into a war based on lies, Trump has now declared the ceasefire with Iran "over" after less than a month.

Restarting his reckless war with Iran won't make America stronger. It will cost more lives and waste more taxpayer dollars.

END THIS WAR

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 8, 2026

This is now the second consecutive night of escalation in southern Iran, where several port cities and islands have come under what Iranian officials describe as US air strikes.

Last night, explosions were reported in Kish, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr province and the important port city of Sirik. Tonight, similar reports are emerging, but the geographical scope appears to have expanded.

Air defence systems were activated on Kish island, where explosions have also been reported, although there is still no confirmed information about the exact locations that were targeted. Kish is Iran’s largest island near the Strait of Hormuz and plays what Tehran sees as a critical role in maintaining its control and authority over the strategic waterway.

There are also reports of explosions and power cuts in Chabahar, one of Iran’s key ports in the southeast. Unlike last night, Chabahar had not previously been reported among the areas targeted.

Both diplomatically and militarily, Iran has responded with strong warnings. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would take firm action to safeguard the country’s national security. Iranian officials also describe the strikes as a violation of the MoU.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Military Headquarters has warned there will be repercussions, saying Iran’s armed forces will deliver a “crushing response” to the latest round of US strikes.

Iran’s Mehr news agency is reporting that US air strikes targeted two marine piers and a maritime traffic control tower in the Iranian port city of Chabahar.

The news agency also says that separate US attacks on Bushehr province in southern Iran did not cause damage to the Bushehr nuclear power plant.