Trump Declares U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Over After U.S. Strikes on Iran and Renewed Shipping Attacks in Strait of Hormuz
On July 7, U.S. Central Command forces began launching strikes against Iran. CENTCOM stated the action responded to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels
MIDDLE EAST — President Trump stated on July 8 that the ceasefire with Iran is over from his perspective and that continued engagement constitutes a waste of time, following U.S. Central Command strikes launched the previous day against Iranian targets in response to attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM reported more than 20 U.S. Navy warships patrolling waters across the Middle East on the same day. The three commercial vessels struck included the Marshall Islands-flagged Al Rekayyat, a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker owned and managed by Nakilat, the Saudi Arabia-flagged Wedyan owned by Bahri, and the Liberia-flagged Cyprus Prosperity.
All three were hit close to Oman while traveling on an Omani-proposed coastal transit route that Iran has opposed. The Al Rekayyat was struck by a drone off Limah on the Musandam Peninsula, causing a fire in the engine room that was extinguished with no crew casualties reported; the vessel continued its passage. The Wedyan left a visible crude oil spillage trail in satellite imagery.
U.S. Strikes in Response to Shipping Attacks
On July 7, U.S. Central Command forces began launching strikes against Iran. CENTCOM stated the action responded to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and described the Iranian actions as a violation of the ceasefire.
The strikes targeted more than 80 sites, including Iranian 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.
Locations included Qeshm island, Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Bandar Mahshahr. Iranian state media reported explosions in those areas and stated that one IRGC Navy member was killed during a confrontation with a US drone in Bandar Mahshahr.
The attacks on the vessels occurred after the United States revoked a temporary license authorizing Iranian oil sales that had been part of the interim agreement framework.
