Iran warns US after deadly strikes: 'If you hit, you will be hit back' as ceasefire collapses

Ceasefire crumbles

Less than a month after Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in Islamabad, the fragile truce has collapsed. President Donald Trump, speaking from the NATO summit in Ankara, called the agreement "finished" and described Iranian leaders as "scum". The unraveling began when Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for a fifth of global oil flows. Trump responded with a wave of air strikes and threatened further action, including seizing an island critical to Iranian oil processing.

We hit them very hard last night. Probably we will hit them again tonight.

Two nights of US bombardment

On July 8 and 9, US forces struck approximately 90 military targets along Iran's coastline, including air‑defense systems, coastal surveillance, missile and drone depots, and naval infrastructure. The attacks hit five Iranian provinces, killing at least 14 people and wounding 78, according to the Health Ministry. Three deaths were confirmed in Ahvaz and at least one near Iranshahr airport. Nine military personnel were killed in Bushehr, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Abbas. US Central Command said the operations aimed to impose "significant costs" on Iran for violating the ceasefire by attacking merchant shipping.

While the ceasefire was in force, the United States launched attacks against five provinces of Iran on 8 and 9 July 2026; attacks that, to date, have caused 14 dead and 78 wounded.

Iran strikes back across the Gulf

Iran's Revolutionary Guard retaliated with one‑way attack drones targeting US military infrastructure in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. The strikes hit a Patriot missile interceptor in Kuwait, an early‑warning system in Qatar, and fuel tanks in Bahrain. Iran also claimed to have shot down an American MQ‑9 drone. In Tehran, Parliament Speaker Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf warned that the Strait of Hormuz would only reopen through "Iranian agreements, not US threats," and declared: "If you hit, you will be hit back." A senior adviser to the Supreme Leader said Iran was "fully prepared" for further US strikes.

The United States still has to learn that intimidation and bad faith no longer go unpunished. Let it be clear: if you hit, you will be hit back. Do not wriggle, you will only sink deeper: the Strait of Hormuz will only open through 'Iranian agreements', not with American threats.

Trump's mixed signals and midterm pressure

From Ankara, Trump oscillated between bellicosity and diplomatic overtures. He said Iran was "eager" to make a deal and had called recently, but also doubted they would honour any agreement. He threatened "20 times" retaliatory strikes and warned of a possible "great attack," yet insisted he did not foresee a full‑scale war. Vice President J.D. Vance's diplomatic channel remains technically open, though Trump called it a waste of time. With midterm elections four months away, Republican allies worry about economic fallout from oil price spikes and an open‑ended conflict.

Economic and strategic stakes

The escalation threatens global oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran threatened to close the waterway entirely and to block the Bab el‑Mandeb strait at the mouth of the Red Sea. It also warned it could withdraw from the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty and revise its nuclear doctrine. Washington, meanwhile, withdrew oil exemptions that had been granted as part of the memorandum. The rapid collapse of the diplomacy has left the region bracing for wider war, with no clear path back to the negotiating table.