{"id":36777,"date":"2026-07-16T09:25:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T06:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=36777"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:25:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T06:25:22","slug":"us-launches-new-wave-of-strikes-on-iran-as-trump-warns-of-broader-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/us-launches-new-wave-of-strikes-on-iran-as-trump-warns-of-broader-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"US launches new wave of strikes on Iran as Trump warns of broader attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

5 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States launched a new wave of military strikes against Iran on July 15, 2026, targeting coastal defense systems and cruise missile facilities near the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump warned that attacks would intensify unless Tehran returns to negotiations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest escalation came as both countries exchanged fresh attacks across the region, raising concerns that the conflict is moving further away from diplomacy despite a ceasefire agreement reached last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces carried out a 90-minute operation beginning at 6 AM Eastern Time, striking Iranian coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to CENTCOM, the operation was designed to reduce Iran’s ability to target commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy transit routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military later confirmed that the strikes concluded at 7:30 a.m. and described the mission as successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest attacks followed another round of U.S. strikes on Tuesday, continuing a campaign aimed at degrading Iran’s military capabilities after weeks of escalating tensions in the Gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Smoke<\/a>
Smoke rises from an explosion at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 15, 2026. (Image Credit: U.S. Central Command)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Trump Threatens Broader Campaign<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in an interview Tuesday evening, Trump indicated the military campaign would continue and could expand significantly if Tehran refuses to resume negotiations. “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them really hard the night after,” Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warned that the United States would begin targeting major infrastructure next week unless Iran agrees to return to peace talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments came after Trump earlier declared that the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran had effectively collapsed following renewed attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this week, Trump also withdrew a proposal to impose a 20% levy on cargo transiting the strategic waterway, saying Gulf states would instead increase investments in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The<\/a>
The Strait of Hormuz in the background with U.S. President Trump, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and the U.S. and Iranian flags. (Image Credit: NASA\/GDFC\/Reuters\/Evelyn Hockstein\/Tasnim News Agency\/Wikimedia Commons\/via IRIA)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Iran Reports Casualties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian officials said seven soldiers were killed and 13 others injured after what they described as the first direct U.S. strike on an Iranian army barracks since the conflict began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran also reported that more than 30 civilians had been killed in recent attacks in the country’s south, while authorities said U.S. strikes damaged the maritime traffic control center at Chabahar Port and hit a wheat storage facility in Khuzestan province. The U.S. military denied targeting civilian infrastructure, saying only military objectives had been struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian media also reported explosions in several parts of the country, including Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas, as exchanges of fire continued between Iranian naval forces and U.S. forces in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iranian military said it launched a seventh wave of drone attacks against a U.S. military base in Jordan, targeting aircraft positions, accommodation facilities and equipment storage areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Kuwait and Bahrain said their air defense systems intercepted Iranian drone attacks overnight, while Jordan reported shooting down three ballistic missiles that entered its airspace from Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"U.S.<\/a>
U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East on July 15, 2026. (Image Credit: U.S. CENTCOM\/via X)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Iran also accused the United States of violating the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the agreement reached last month to reduce tensions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter to the United Nations, Iran alleged that renewed U.S. strikes, sanctions and maritime measures breached the terms of the memorandum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Shipping and Energy Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fighting has continued to disrupt one of the world’s busiest maritime routes. CENTCOM said U.S. forces redirected two commercial vessels after resuming a naval blockade of Iranian ports, adding that American forces remain prepared to enforce the restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renewed military activity has increased concerns over the security of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies normally pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brent crude prices remained above $85 per barrel on Wednesday as traders monitored the conflict and assessed potential risks to global energy supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shipping officials warned that rapidly changing U.S. policy announcements have created additional uncertainty for the maritime industry, increasing operational risks and insurance costs.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Vessels<\/a>
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on June 30, 2026. (Image Credit: Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA\/via WANA)<\/sup><\/em>

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Diplomatic Efforts Under Pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renewed fighting has cast further doubt on efforts to revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts said the collapse of the Islamabad Memorandum has significantly narrowed opportunities for diplomacy and increased the likelihood of a prolonged conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some experts believe neither side currently appears willing to compromise, making a negotiated settlement increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others warned that expanding U.S. attacks to Iranian civilian infrastructure could trigger broader retaliation against energy facilities across the Gulf, potentially drawing additional regional actors into the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts at IRIA have cautioned that without clearly defined political objectives, the military campaign risks becoming a prolonged confrontation with no clear end, similar to other long-running conflicts in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the escalating military operations, experts said diplomacy remains the only realistic path toward reducing tensions, although they acknowledged that renewed negotiations have become considerably more difficult following the latest exchanges of strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Smoke<\/a>
Smoke rises from an explosion at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 14, 2026. (Image Credit: U.S. Central Command)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States launched a new wave of military strikes against Iran on July 15, 2026, targeting coastal defense systems and cruise missile facilities near the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump warned that attacks would intensify unless Tehran returns to negotiations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[44,1,125],"tags":[677,75,208,152,30,356,5,49,71,113,1023,702,7,128],"class_list":["post-36777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","category-news","category-united-states","tag-centcom","tag-conflict","tag-diplomacy","tag-energy","tag-iran","tag-middle-east","tag-military","tag-peace","tag-politics","tag-security","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-trump","tag-u-s","tag-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/US-forces-preparing-missiles.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-9zb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36777"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36788,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36777\/revisions\/36788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}