US unleashes new round of strikes on Iran and Tehran targets Gulf allies after Trump claims they were begging for a deal but can't be trusted: 'They're sort of crazy'

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 05:37, 9 July 2026 | Updated: 05:42, 9 July 2026 The US and Iran traded another round of devastating strikes on Wednesday as  Donald Trump called Tehran 'crazy' but said they were begging him to make a deal.   The strikes came hours after Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the fragile ceasefire.  Tehran responded to the US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Persian Gulf.  The President declared the ceasefire 'over' earlier Wednesday but said that he'd been in touch with Iran when speaking to the press on Air Force One.  'They want to make a deal so badly. They just called a little while ago. They want to make a deal very badly. I just don't know that they're worthy of making a deal,' Trump said, adding that he wasn't sure Tehran would 'honor the deal.' When asked why they were striking commercial ships if they wanted to make a deal, Trump said it was because 'they're sort of crazy, to be honest with you. They're out of control but they want to make a deal badly.' The President bragged about the US strikes on Truth Social, saying it was vengeance for Iran attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that there could be worse to come. Donald Trump called the Iranians 'crazy' but said they were begging him to make a new deal Trump spent much of his evening posting video clips of what were presumably various strikes on Tehran to social media He wrote on Truth Social: 'This is in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!' Trump spent much of his evening posting video clips of what were presumably various strikes on Tehran to social media.  The US struck a variety of military sites and port facilities early Wednesday after Iran targeted several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman, sparking Iranian fire then as well.   But Thursday's attacks appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least twice in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters. There was no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait's military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles.  Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait. The US military's Central Command said it hit some 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers. 'US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief,' it added. The US says the strikes were intended to 'further degrade' Iran's ability 'to threaten freedom of navigation' in the strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28. The President bragged about the US strikes on Truth Social, saying it was vengeance for Iran attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that there could be worse to come Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran's nuclear power plant complex, and the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.  In Iranshahr, authorities said a strike had killed a firefighter at an airport. For the first time since April, it also appeared the US strikes targeted Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran's northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges had been attacked on the route to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday.  But it wasn't clear if the Golestan attack was the same one mentioned by the Guard. Trump had said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in 'long-term' military action. 'Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,' Trump said, though he also suggested the US military might 'just finish the job.' Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran's civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island. After three tankers were hit Tuesday, the US launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by targeting American military sites in the Persian Gulf. At the Nato summit in Turkey, the US President said the truce was finished and threatened to target Iran's bridges, electricity grid and water-cleansing plants. He is pictured here at the event with Keir Starmer Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait.  Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: 'America still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you'll get hit.' Trump fueled concerns that the war could restart by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was 'over,' although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue. Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump's comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke.  A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait. 'For me, I think it's over,' Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome.  'They can talk, but I think they're wasting their time,' he said. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump's remarks 'are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure' of U.S. policy toward Iran. The strikes follow up bombings that caused large fires at Iranian ports last night  Trump has made other threats to seize Kharg Island, including last month, when he also questioned whether the US 'has the stomach for it.' Some 90 percent of Iranian oil exports pass through the island. The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran's leadership. Hard-liners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief. Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the funeral for Khamenei, who was killed February 28 in the war's first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions. The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Oil prices surged last night with global benchmark Brent crude hitting $78.39 per barrel - its highest price since June 19. All three major US stock market indexes ticked down after Trump declared the MOU was over. Futures for the NASDAQ, Dow Jones and S&P 500 were all down roughly a point on Wednesday pre-market. The Pentagon struck more than 80 Iranian targets late Tuesday, including air defenses, radar sites and anti-ship missile batteries, in an operation overseen by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11  But despite Trump's boasts that Iran's navy has been destroyed, the regime has previously managed to choke off traffic through the strait using small fast-attack speedboats, explosive one-way drones and sea mines. At the heart of negotiations between the US and Iran is the regime's nuclear weapons program and its enriched uranium stockpile. Trump is demanding that Tehran stop trying to produce a nuclear bomb and hand over its entire stockpile of enriched uranium. Iran, meanwhile, wants control over the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of US sanctions and the unfreezing of billions in overseas assets.  Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait.