A ceasefire struck between the U.S. and Iran to pause its full-scale battle teetered on the edge of total collapse Wednesday when the U.S. accomplished a second spherical of strikes in retaliation for Iranian strikes on business vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump declared on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday that the ceasefire cope with Iran was “over” and laced into his Iranian counterparts, calling them “scum” and “sick folks.”
That very same night time, the U.S. retaliated once more, increasing the intensity of its strikes and hitting 90 targets, in line with U.S. Central Command. It additionally widened the geographic scope of its air marketing campaign to incorporate the southern and northeast components of the nation and the character of its targets — Iran’s Ministry of International Affairs mentioned the U.S. hit two bridges.
Smoke rises from boats on fireplace at a fishing pier in Banood, Bushehr Province, Iran, after a U.S. projectile struck the world round Iran’s Bushehr nuclear energy plant on Thursday, in line with the deputy governor of Bushehr Province, on this screengrab from a video obtained from social media and launched on July 9, 2026.
Social Media by way of Reuters
The 60-day ceasefire, agreed to in a mid-June Memorandum of Understanding, was at all times shaky. However the newest assaults are an escalation from the contained back-and-forth that outlined earlier flareups: a standard sample wherein Iran hits business delivery, the U.S. responds with restricted retaliatory strikes, and Iran responds with assaults on Gulf allies of the US, together with Bahrain and Kuwait.
That sample ended this week when the U.S. struck Iran for a second consecutive night time in what it known as “offensive” strikes, and Iran retaliated with strikes on Jordan. This is a timeline of the struggle with Iran, formally in a state of ceasefire since early April, however with a fragile settlement steadily interrupted by flareups.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media on the day of a NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026.
Umit Bektas/Reuters
Feb. 28: Battle in Iran begins
Israel kills Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with the assistance of US intelligence, launching the U.S. and Israel headfirst right into a two-month air struggle towards Iran.
April 7: Trump declares ceasefire and US and Iran meet
The U.S. and Iran introduced a two-week ceasefire earlier than Vice President JD Vance traveled to Pakistan for high-level negotiations with Iranian officers. The cease-fire was prolonged indefinitely in late April.
June 17: Memorandum of Understanding struck
The U.S. and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding on June 17 after two months of stalled talks. The interim settlement formalized the ceasefire, ended the U.S. naval blockade, reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and dangled a bevy of financial incentives in entrance of Iran, together with a broad waiver on oil sanctions.
The framework deal kickstarted a 60-day negotiating interval to achieve a everlasting settlement and resolve a number of unanswered questions, largely about the way forward for Iran’s nuclear program and the policing of passage by means of the strait. These talks started in Switzerland however have since sputtered.
Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistan’s Chief of Protection Forces and Chief of Military Workers Area Marshall Asim Munir and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and International Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officers in Islamabad, April 11, 2026.
Jacquelyn Martin/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
The strait shortly emerged as the important thing sticking level. The settlement solely declared that Iran wanted to make use of “its greatest efforts for the secure passage of business vessels, with no cost for 60 days solely” and didn’t rule out the likelihood that Iran may enact “service charges” down the highway. Iran has taken that language to imply it could possibly exert and can preserve a point of management over the strait.
June 25: First violation of MOU
Simply over every week after signing the framework deal, Iran launched a drone strike towards a ship within the Strait of Hormuz. The assault — interpreted by the U.S. as a violation of the ceasefire — prompted a spherical of contained strikes towards Iran.
The 2 sides traded fireplace once more the subsequent day, with Iran hitting a tanker and the U.S. hanging a number of targets in response. Iran additionally launched assaults towards Bahrain and Kuwait, although these strikes had been intercepted by the U.S. The 2 agreed to finish the tit-for-tat shortly after.
July 7: Newest violation of MOU
Early this week, Iran struck three vessels within the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. responded by rescinding Iran’s license to promote oil internationally. The choice reversed a key provision of the MOU — and one which promised to deliver important financial aid to Iran.
The strikes adopted a interval of elevated visitors by means of the strait, peaking at 49 ships on July 7. Within the days since, passage within the Strait has slowed significantly, with solely 25 ships crossing on Wednesday, in line with Kpler information.
The 2 sides are nonetheless at odds over the which means of the MoU’s clauses associated to the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran insisting it ought to preserve some authority over passage, whereas the U.S. argues the pact paved the best way for an open waterway by the top of 60 days.
Smoke rises from boats on fireplace at a fishing pier in Banood, Bushehr Province, Iran, after a U.S. projectile struck the world round Iran’s Bushehr nuclear energy plant on Thursday, in line with the deputy governor of Bushehr Province, on this screengrab from a video obtained from social media and launched on July 9, 2026.
Social Media by way of Reuters
In an X publish Wednesday responding to the U.S. strikes, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Ghalibaf mentioned that “Hormuz will solely open with Iranian preparations, not American threats.”
Vance mentioned U.S. strikes had been straight linked to Iranian actions within the strait.
“That artery has bought to stay open, and that’s what the Iranians should know,” he mentioned on Wednesday. “In the event that they attempt to shut it down, there’s going to be response from the American navy. It is that easy.”
