The U.S. military says its latest strike wave against Iran hit about 90 targets, marking a sharper new phase in the fight over the Strait of Hormuz after attacks on commercial shipping.
The Associated Press, in a report carried by SFGate, reported that U.S. Central Command said the new round of airstrikes was over after hitting roughly 90 targets across Iran. CENTCOM released black-and-white strike footage and said U.S. forces remained prepared for further operations.
The target count gives the crisis a new military scale after earlier reports focused on the collapse of the ceasefire, Iranian threats over Hormuz and diplomatic warnings from the United Nations. According to AP, the strikes followed Iranian attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and came as Tehran fired back toward Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, while Kuwait said its military was intercepting incoming drones and missiles.
In an official release, CENTCOM said U.S. forces had already hit more than 80 targets on July 7 with precision munitions in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels: the Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, the Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedyan and the Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity. CENTCOM said those targets included air defenses, command-and-control networks, coastal radar, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 IRGC small boats in and near the strait.
Why the 90-target count matters
The Strait of Hormuz remains the center of the confrontation because it is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. The Hindu, citing AFP reporting, said President Donald Trump described the ceasefire with Iran as over before ordering new strikes, while also leaving the door open to more talks. Trump said the United States would hit Iran hard if attacks on shipping continued.
CBS News reported that CENTCOM described the purpose of the later strike wave as further degrading Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz. CBS also reported new air-defense alerts in Bahrain and Kuwait, along with Trump’s claim that Iran had contacted the United States about a possible deal.
The diplomatic track has not fully disappeared, but it is badly damaged. The same day, NATO leaders used their Ankara summit declaration to say Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and must respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Nations and the International Maritime Organization have urged maximum restraint, warning that the attacks are putting seafarers and global energy markets at risk.
The immediate question is whether the 90-target strike wave ends this round of escalation or becomes the opening move in a wider Gulf exchange. For now, Washington says the strikes were tied to freedom of navigation, while Iran continues to argue that it has the right to manage traffic through Hormuz under the interim arrangement. That gap is exactly where the ceasefire is breaking.