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US, Iran Trade New Strikes in Fight Over Hormuz Strait

Smoke rises from explosions at an unknown location, following what US Central Command (CENTCOM) said were strikes on Iranian military targets, in this screen grab from a video released on July 8, 2026. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
Smoke rises from explosions at an unknown location, following what US Central Command (CENTCOM) said were strikes on Iranian military targets, in this screen grab from a video released on July 8, 2026. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
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US, Iran Trade New Strikes in Fight Over Hormuz Strait

Smoke rises from explosions at an unknown location, following what US Central Command (CENTCOM) said were strikes on Iranian military targets, in this screen grab from a video released on July 8, 2026. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)
Smoke rises from explosions at an unknown location, following what US Central Command (CENTCOM) said were strikes on Iranian military targets, in this screen grab from a video released on July 8, 2026. (US Central Command/Handout via Reuters)

The United States and Iran traded strikes on Thursday for the second day running as Washington and Tehran battled over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The vital oil shipping corridor is a flashpoint in the Middle East war, with Tehran insisting on control of the strait despite it being open to free passage before the US-Israeli attacks in February.

After the foes traded attacks on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was "over", but left the door open to more talks and added any strikes would end quickly.

US forces said the latest attacks against Iran were aimed at "their ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz", citing recent strikes against commercial ships in the waterway.

The US Central Command said they had struck approximately 90 military targets, including missile and drone storage as well as military logistics sites along Iran's coastline.

Iran's reprisals came quickly, with the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) saying they had struck "key infrastructure and facilities" at US bases in the region.

American strikes hit a railway bridge in Iran's northeast, according to several official media, and the official IRNA news agency reported strikes on a military base in coastal Bushehr, which hosts the nation's only civilian nuclear power plant.

Earlier, warplanes were heard over Iran's Kish Island and explosions rocked the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Chabahar, part of which lost electricity, IRNA reported.

"This is in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. "If it happens again, it will get much worse!"

Late on Wednesday while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the Iranian side had "called a little while ago," and that they wanted "to make a deal so badly".

Trump did not provide further details of the call -- including who was on the line -- but went on to cast doubt over the value of any deal, calling the Iranians "sort of crazy".

- Control over the strait -

Iran's chief negotiator said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened only under "Iranian arrangements".

"The United States still has not learned that bullying and breaking its promises no longer come without consequences," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X. "Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck."

Since US-Israeli strikes triggered war in February, Tehran has insisted on controlling the strait, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorized route.

Its military struck at least three ships in recent days, prompting extensive US strikes against Iranian targets on Tuesday.

The latest strikes come just ahead of the Thursday burial of Ali Khamenei, Iran's former supreme leader, who was killed at the outbreak of the war on February 28.

UN chief Antonio Guterres called meanwhile "on all parties to exercise maximum restraint" -- as did Pakistan, a key mediator in the US-Iran talks.

Iran said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatar's prime minister had spoken over the phone on Wednesday and "underscored the importance of using diplomatic means to resolve regional issues".

Both the United States and Iran said they had hit dozens of targets in the initial wave of attacks, which Iranian state television said had killed eight Iranian military personnel.

CENTCOM said its forces struck more than 80 targets on Tuesday, while the Guards said they hit dozens of US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.

The latest attacks by Iran did not result in any American casualties or cause major damage to facilities, a US military official said on Wednesday.

Washington wants free passage for ships while Iran is insisting on fees and has refused to allow vessels to pass through Omani waters.

All three vessels recently struck were sailing close to Oman, which had proposed a temporary transit corridor hugging its coastline.

Maritime traffic had tentatively resumed after Washington and Tehran signed the deal to end hostilities last month.

But almost 6,000 seafarers remain stranded in the area, International Maritime Organization chief Arsenio Dominguez said Wednesday.

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World

Russia Hits Ukraine with Drones and Missiles, At Least 19 Dead

Emergency services work to rescue residents from under the debris at the site of an apartment building which was hit by a Russian missile strike in the town of Pryluky, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Emergency services work to rescue residents from under the debris at the site of an apartment building which was hit by a Russian missile strike in the town of Pryluky, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
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Russia Hits Ukraine with Drones and Missiles, At Least 19 Dead

Emergency services work to rescue residents from under the debris at the site of an apartment building which was hit by a Russian missile strike in the town of Pryluky, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Emergency services work to rescue residents from under the debris at the site of an apartment building which was hit by a Russian missile strike in the town of Pryluky, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Russia pounded Ukraine with waves of missiles and drones on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people and hitting residential buildings, industrial facilities and infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said.

One Russian missile slammed into an apartment block in the northern city of Pryluky, killing at least 13 people including four children, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus said.

Dozens of rescuers picked through the rubble at the site where several sections of the five-story building collapsed, Reuters video showed.

Emergency workers used ladders to get to the upper floors of what remained of the building. Around 50 people were wounded, the governor said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said six other people were killed in Kyiv, Oleksandria and Kremenchuk during the heavy overnight attack.

"This was one of the most vile strikes: 70 missiles in total, many of them ballistic," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. "One of the key targets was ⁠our energy infrastructure. ⁠The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively."

Russia's defense ministry said its forces had carried out a "massive strike" on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions, using high-precision land-, sea- and air-launched weapons, as well as drones.

Ukraine's air force said it had downed just over 80% of the 46 jet-powered drones launched by Russia — a sharp increase from recent weeks when, on average, air defenses took down 50% to 60%.

Since the summer, Russia has used increasing numbers of the new high-velocity drones in round-the-clock attacks on Kyiv and other cities, stretching Ukraine's air defenses which have struggled to cope with their speed.

The air force ⁠did not explain the jump in the interception rate and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zelenskiy said that the Russian ballistic missiles remained the major challenge for Ukraine, adding that he and his team were "every day looking for Patriot (missile interception) systems that can and must protect people's lives.”

The US-made Patriot system is the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal capable of stopping high-velocity ballistic missiles but tight global supplies have been drained by the Iran war this year as well as the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine's energy ministry said that it had started to roll out partial emergency power cuts in five Ukrainian regions due to the attacks.

Russia's defense ministry said its targets included sites where Ukrainian defense company Fire Point manufactures and stores its Flamingo cruise missiles and medium- and long-range drones in Kyiv as well as regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kharkiv.

Last week, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had fired its first domestically made ballistic missile in combat, produced ⁠by Fire Point.

In an interview with ⁠Reuters last week, Zelenskiy said he expected the company to have a longer-range FP-9 missile ready by the autumn. The company has said that weapon will be able to reach Moscow.

Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops hit four targets in Russia over the past 24 hours, including two Russian oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara, and Astrakhan regions.

In the Reuters interview, Zelenskiy said Ukraine would hit Russia's energy assets in response to Moscow's escalating strikes on civilian infrastructure.

Many Kyiv residents took shelter in the city's deep underground metro stations as warnings of the upcoming attacks were shared by Ukrainian officials and military intelligence.

Several loud explosions reverberated through the capital during the night, Reuters witnesses said.

"The metro is better, because we live on the 9th floor of a high-rise, and it's really scary when you're on the 9th floor and missiles are flying at you," Lesia, a 49-year-old Kyiv resident, told Reuters.

Ukrainian officials said Russian ballistic missiles targeted Kyiv in addition to the drones.

Overnight air strikes on the southeastern city of Dnipro damaged an industrial facility, transport infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia and apartment buildings in Kremenchuk, regional officials said on the Telegram messaging app.

World

India Says 12 Seafarers Injured in Hormuz Tanker Attack

A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)
A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)
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India Says 12 Seafarers Injured in Hormuz Tanker Attack

A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)
A man checks his cellphone at a waterfront shelter as commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Tuesday, Oct, 6, 202 (AP)

India said 12 crew members on a Panama-flagged tanker had been injured in an attack while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, with those hurt receiving medical treatment in Oman.

“We condemn the attack earlier today on a Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace... it was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” New Delhi’s foreign ministry said in a statement cited by AFP.

The ministry said the tanker had a 19-member crew, including 17 Indians. Of those injured, 11 are Indians.

“With the assistance of Omani authorities, the injured crew have since been evacuated and are receiving medical treatment in Khasab, Oman,” it said.

India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, and several of its mariners have been killed in Hormuz attacks since the Middle East war began on February 28.

An attack on a cargo ship in the same region last month killed an Indian sailor, according to New Delhi.

“The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region remain a cause of deep concern for India,” the ministry said.

Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane for Gulf oil and gas since the start of the war, occasionally striking ships accused of failing to coordinate with its authorities or deviating from its preferred route.

In retaliation, the United States has been enforcing a counterblockade of Iranian ports, carrying out strikes of its own on ships it says refuse to comply.

“We reiterate our call for an immediate cessation of such attacks in the interests of peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.

“The targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and navigation and commerce through international waterways must be restored at the earliest.”

World

Iran Nominates ‘Aerospace and Missile Official’ For Defense Minister Post

Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)
Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)
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Iran Nominates ‘Aerospace and Missile Official’ For Defense Minister Post

Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)
Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi (Mehr news agency)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has nominated Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a senior official linked to the country’s missile industry, for the position of defense minister, an official said Monday.

Pezeshkian “in a letter, introduced Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi to Parliament to take up the post of defense minister and armed forces logistics,” Sasan Valizadeh, a presidential advisor, said, as cited by semi-official Mehr News Agency.

The nomination was sent to Parliament, requiring a confidence vote after lawmakers review Akhlaghi Ketabchi’s program.

In Iran, parliamentary approval of nominees for sensitive security positions is generally regarded as a formality, as the nomination and public announcement of a candidate typically indicate that he or she has already secured the Supreme Leader’s approval.

However, Iranian media outlets say the nomination of Akhlaghi Ketabchi has raised questions about how the appointment received approval at the highest levels of Iran’s political establishment, given the Supreme Leader’s continued absence from public view.

The nomination came to fill a post vacant since Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed in US-Israeli strikes in February.

The ministry has been run by acting minister Majid Ebn-e-Reza since March 2. A former deputy defense minister, Ebn-e-Reza has represented Iran domestically and abroad but was not put forward for the permanent role.

A Longtime Defense Official

Akhlaghi Ketabchi is a longtime Defense Ministry official with deep ties to Iran’s missile and aerospace sectors.

The UN Security Council listed him in 2007 as head of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program; his name reappeared on UN sanctions lists when earlier measures were re-imposed in September 2025.

In 2014 he was appointed head of the Aerospace Industries Organization. He was also sanctioned by the US in 2020 over his alleged links to Iran’s arms-related activities, while the UK sanctioned him in 2023 over his alleged involvement in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities.