Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Iran had called Washington to make a deal after the US military said it had struck dozens of sites across Iran in a second blistering night of attacks.
The US president told reporters on Air Force One that Iran’s leadership had called “a little while ago” and “they want to make a deal so badly”.
Trump, who yesterday said the ceasefire was “over” and rubbished talks as a “waste of time”, said he did not know if Iran was “worthy of making a deal”, or if they would “honour” it.
The US military said on Wednesday night it had launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, triggering Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain.
The American strikes rattled several cities along Iran's southern coast and left some areas without power. At least three people were killed in the overnight attacks, according to Iranian media.
The renewed strikes, and uncertainty around diplomacy, saw oil prices rise around 1 per cent to $78.80 a barrel early this morning.
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Key Points
- US launches second wave of strikes on Iran
- Iran appears to target Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait in strikes
- Trump still insisting Iran conflict isn't a war
- Iran says Strait of Hormuz will not operate under ‘American threats’
- Iran 'called a little while ago' seeking a deal, Trump claims
Trump says Iran may not be 'worthy' of a deal
09:30 , James ReynoldsDonald Trump told reporters on Air Force One early on Thursday that Iran had called him seeking a deal.
But the president, who on Wednesday said the talks appeared to be a “waste of time”, said: “I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making a deal. I don’t know that they’re going to honour the deal.”
In pictures: Explosions in Iran after a second night of strikes
09:15 , James Reynolds
At least 3 killed in US strikes on Iran - state media
09:00 , James ReynoldsIranian state media is reporting that three people were killed by the US strikes overnight.
The deputy governor of Khuzestan, in the south west, said more were injured in attack near Ahvaz.
08:53 , James Reynolds
Mapped: Ships congregate outside Strait on Thursday morning
08:45 , James Reynolds
What do we know about the wave of strikes overnight?
08:30 , James ReynoldsIranian media reported strikes primarily along Iran's southern coast, from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.
Among the locations hit were Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Konarak and Chabahar, neighbouring coastal cities near Iran's border with Pakistan.
Electricity had been restored to most areas of Chabahar after strikes knocked out power for some in the city, Mehr news agency reported, citing the local utility. Media also reported that a maritime traffic control tower in Chabahar was hit.
A firefighter was killed in a strike on the airport in the southeastern city of Iranshahr, state media reported. In northern Iran, a U.S. attack hit a railway bridge near the town of Aqqala, according to Press TV.
Kuwaitis told not to share photos of attacks
08:13 , James ReynoldsKuwaitis have again been told not to share footage of the overnight attacks on social media.
In a statement on X, the army tells citizens not to take or share photos or videos of missiles or drones being intercepted.
Citizens are also told not to approach the sites of fallen shrapnel.
Catch up: Missile sirens sound across Middle East after Trump resumes strikes on Iran
08:00 , James ReynoldsThe US military said it struck 90 sites across Iran this morning, saying the operation was aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
After explosions were reported in coastal areas across southern Iran, missile sirens sounded across Gulf nations warning of potential retaliatory strikes from Tehran.
The US continued carrying out airstrikes against Iran after president Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that the ceasefire between the two nations was “over” in the wake of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the strait.
The president wrote on social media on Wednesday that the strikes were “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran”, warning that attacks could “get much worse” if hostilities continued.
He told reporters onboard Air Force One that Iran had reached out recently and claimed that Tehran still wanted to make a deal “so badly”. Iran hasn't confirmed any such overtures.
The resumption of attacks came as the president said he was “not sure” if he wanted to make a deal with Tehran going forward.
Asked why he now viewed Iran’s leadership as “scum”, the US president told the Nato summit in Turkey that he “got to know ‘em”.
Iran accuses Nato chief of ‘willful complicity’ in US-Israeli war
07:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarIran has criticised Nato secretary general Mark Rutte over his support for recent US strikes, accusing him of admitting Europe’s role in the conflict.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said European countries that allowed the use of their military bases and infrastructure for the campaign were complicit in what he called an “unprovoked aggression” against Iran.
Mark Rutte’s repeated admissions of Europe’s willful complicity in the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran only confirms, once again, that they were not impartial in this brutal unlawful aggression. Those who provided their territories, military bases, and infrastructure to…
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) July 9, 2026
His remarks came after Rutte described the latest US attacks as “absolutely necessary” and said thousands of US military aircraft had operated from European bases during the war.
“Mark Rutte’s repeated admissions of Europe’s willful complicity in the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran only confirms, once again, that they were not impartial in this brutal unlawful aggression. Those who provided their territories, military bases, and infrastructure to enable the aggression cannot evade responsibility for their contribution to an unprovoked aggression and its grave consequences,” he wrote on X.
US forces strike 90 military targets along Iran’s coastline
07:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarShipping through Strait of Hormuz slows sharply after renewed US strikes
06:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarCommercial vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped significantly after the US carried out a second day of strikes on Iran, according to Bloomberg News.
Using ship-tracking data, the report said only a handful of large vessels were moving through the strategic waterway, including a US-sanctioned supertanker leaving the Gulf and an Iranian-flagged container ship.
Bloomberg said just 14 cargo ships passed through the strait in both directions on Wednesday, the lowest daily total since the US and Iran signed their memorandum of understanding in mid-June.
By comparison, the waterway had averaged around 34 cargo vessel transits a day during the three weeks after the interim agreement came into effect.
Khamenei’s coffin transported from Najaf to Iran ahead of burial
06:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader is being transported from the Iraqi city of Najaf to Mashhad in northeastern Iran ahead of his burial later today, according to the Mehr news agency.
The transfer marks the final stage of six days of funeral ceremonies held across Iran and Iraq, including in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, head of Khamenei’s office, said the late leader had requested to be buried in Mashhad, near the shrine of Imam Reza.
US says latest strikes intended to ‘degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation’ in Strait of Hormuz
06:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe US military said its latest strikes were aimed at protecting commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after recent attacks on vessels.
US Central Command said the operation was intended to “further degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation” and “further degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation” in the vital waterway.
In a statement, it said: “The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Iran dismisses Trump’s ‘scum’ remark and says they will answer with ‘action’ and not ‘vulgarity’
05:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarDonald Trump claimed that Iran had reached out seeking a deal but questioned whether Tehran could be trusted to uphold any agreement.
He told reporters: “I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum. You know what scum is? They’re scum. They’re sick people.”
Later, he said: “I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making a deal - I don’t know that they’re going to honour the deal, that’s the problem.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, hit back and dismissed further negotiations. “We do not answer vulgarity with vulgarity, but with action: fearlessly and with great valour,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Trump says Iran wants a deal 'so badly' after US military action
05:30 , Maroosha MuzaffarIran’s parliamentary speaker says Strait of Hormuz will not operate under ‘American threats’
05:10 , Maroosha MuzaffarIran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned Washington that any further attacks would draw a response after the US launched fresh strikes overnight.
“Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit,” he wrote on X, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would only operate under Iranian arrangements and not “American threats”.
Trump says Washington would request even more forcefully if Iran targeted shipping again
04:50 , Maroosha MuzaffarDonald Trump has warned that Washington would respond even more forcefully if Iran targeted shipping again, while US Central Command said the operation was aimed at protecting freedom of navigation through one of the world’s busiest oil transit routes.
The renewed conflict has raised fears of a wider regional crisis and sent shockwaves through global markets.
Brent crude climbed more than 5 per cent to nearly $80 a barrel as investors worried about disruptions to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, while US stock markets fell.
The fresh strikes have also dealt a blow to hopes that last month’s interim truce between Washington and Tehran could be turned into a lasting peace agreement.
US launches second wave of strikes on Iran
04:18 , Maroosha MuzaffarThe US launched a second wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, hours after president Donald Trump declared that an interim agreement to end the conflict was “over”.
Iranian state media reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the coastal city of Sirik and Bushehr province, while the US military said the attacks were intended to weaken Iran's ability to threaten shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The latest escalation came after three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz were attacked, prompting the US to carry out what it described as retaliatory strikes.
Reignited Iran fight rattles Wall Street
04:01 , Josh MarcusWith the US and Iran once again trading strikes, traders across Wall Street are racing to factor in more potential disruptions to the global economy.
“We always expected it to be a rocky road to resolution, but this is a pretty big rock,” Tyler Rosenlicht, head of natural resource equities at Cohen & Steers, told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s really tough to be confident in anything.”
On Wednesday, Brent crude oil futures rose 5.2 per cent and US oil futures were up 4.4 per cent.
PHOTOS: Mourners arrive at Imam Reza's shrine in Mashhad for funeral of slain Iranian leader Ali Khamenei
03:30 , Josh Marcus
ICYMI: Tenuous state of a US-Iran ceasefire renews anxiety over high fuel prices
03:00 , Cathy Bussewitz and Mae AndersonThe potential unraveling of a fragile truce between Iran and the United States renewed anxiety Wednesday over whether fuel prices would go back up if sustained fighting kept oil tankers from traveling through the Persian Gulf.
Oil prices rose to their highest point in weeks after President Donald Trump declared the U.S. ceasefire with Iran over, responding to Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and on American military sites in other Gulf nations. Costlier crude oil could lead to costlier gas station fill-ups as drivers in many countries were getting a break from elevated prices brought on by the war.
“Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has essentially stopped, which tells you more about risk perception right now than any statement from Washington or Tehran," said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, in an email. “Oil markets reacted quickly to the renewed geopolitical risk."
U.S. gasoline prices increased slightly Wednesday to an average of $3.80 for a gallon of regular, up from $3.79 the day before, but still well below the month-ago average of $4.16, according to motor club federation AAA.
Crude oil makes up the bulk of the price of gasoline, so when oil prices rise, gasoline eventually follows. But it can take weeks for consumers to feel the full impacts. That's because refiners make gasoline with oil purchased in advance. The finished product then has to travel through a system of pipelines and trucks to reach gas station pumps.
More details in the full story.
The tenuous state of a US-Iran ceasefire renews anxiety over high fuel prices
Trump still insisting Iran conflict isn't a war
02:30 , Josh Marcus
President Trump continues to argue the US-Israeli conflict with Iran is not a war, even as American forces have struck targets across Iran on Wednesday.
"It's really not a war so much”, he told reporters on Air Force One on Wednesday. “It's a de-nuking of Iran. De-nuclearisation of Iran”.
"So this is all about taking nuclear weapons, not allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons”, he added. “And everybody should like that”.
Trump switched to old Air Force One over Iran threats, sources say
02:01 , Josh Marcus
President Trump reportedly used the old Air Force One rather than the new, Qatar-donated luxury model to depart the Nato summit in Turkey on Wednesday as a security precaution because of the reignited Iran war, according to The New York Times.
On Wednesday, the president claimed the new plane was being sent to a Royal Air Force base in England on its way back from the summit as a treat for the “wonderful” American military service members there.
Iran appears to target Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait in strikes
01:47 , Josh Marcus
The US-Iran conflict appears to be widening again.
Bahrain announced on Wednesday that its air defences had intercepted “several Iranian air attacks”.
In a statement, the country condemned what it called Iran’s “criminal attacks using missiles and drones targeting civilians in Bahrain”.
Missile alerts also went off in Qatar, the Associated Press reports.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday.
Trump insists US has won Iran war, despite resumption of attacks
01:30 , Josh Marcus
President Trump continues to paint a victorious picture of his Iran campaign, even as hostilities ratcheted back up this week.
“We’ve already won”, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Wednesday.
He nonetheless vowed overwhelming American reprisals to Iranian attacks on shipping vessels, promising to return any force with 20 times the power.
01:00 , James ReynoldsKeir Starmer said on Wednesday that Nato had emerged from its annual summit "stronger and more united", citing Donald Trump's closing remarks which he said had praised the spirit and unity of the meeting.
"President Trump summed up and said that he was very pleased to welcome the spirit of the meeting and the unity of the meeting, and therefore, in terms of what's the outcome here, and answering that question 'is Nato stronger and more united coming out of this summit?' then the answer is yes to that," Starmer told reporters.
The outgoing prime minister added that the alliance had achieved its principal goal of reinforcing cohesion at a time of conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Former MAGA members criticise Trump for Iran attacks
Thursday 9 July 2026 00:40 , Maroosha MuzaffarSome former prominent figures associated with Donald Trump’s MAGA movement have criticised the US's latest strikes on Iran, arguing they undermine Trump’s pledge to avoid prolonged foreign conflicts.
Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene questioned why the US resumed bombing Iran despite previously claiming its military had been severely weakened.
“We are back to bombing Iran during the ceasefire for the Iran war that is not a war because Iran bombed a vessel for crossing the Strait of Hormuz that they don’t control yet apparently control,” she wrote on X.
She continued: “I’m so glad that Trump ran for president to end forever foreign wars otherwise I might start thinking this war that is not a war that we won like 40 times is starting to turn into another forever foreign war in the Middle East.”
We are back to bombing Iran during the ceasefire for the Iran war that is not a war because Iran bombed a vessel for crossing the Strait of Hormuz that they don’t control yet apparently control.
— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@FmrRepMTG) July 8, 2026
Not sure how they bombed the vessel because we have totally and completely…
Former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent said the attacks effectively ended the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran.
“We are back to attempting to find a military solution to the SOH,” he wrote on X, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.
“The problem is we signed the MoU because there was no military solution & we needed the SOH open,” he said, adding, “Our best option is to walk away.”
Why would Iran want to derail the MoU with Hormuz attacks?
Thursday 9 July 2026 00:20 , Josh Marcus
A former Pentagon official believes diplomatic intrigue could explain why Iranian forces attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week, leading to the collapse of the tentative peace deal and helping kick off the latest round of back-and-forth strikes.
“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,” David Des Roches, former Pentagon Nato operations director, told Al Jazeera.
Trump floats US troop removal in Europe over Iran and Greenland tensions
Wednesday 8 July 2026 23:54 , Josh Marcus
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, President Trump suggested the US might realign or pull back US troops in response to his frustrations over European leaders’ handling of the Greenland and Iran crises.
The Republican said “a lot’s going to depend on Greenland,” the Nato ally the US has been pushing to take over despite firm protests from Denmark and numerous other European nations.
Trump also claimed “a lot’s dependent on Iran”, reiterating his regular criticisms that Europe didn’t do enough to support the original US war effort.
“When they had a chance, an opportunity to help, they chose not to”, the president said. “But we’re sort of forgetting about that”.
Iran 'called a little while ago' seeking a deal, Trump claims
Wednesday 8 July 2026 23:40 , Josh Marcus
Iran remains desperate to make a deal with the US, President Donald Trump claims.
“They called a little while ago”, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Wednesday night.
“They want to make a deal so badly”, he added. “I just don't know if they're worthy of making it. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's the problem”.
