The United States said on the 8th that it had carried out airstrikes against Iran for a second consecutive day.
U.S. Central Command wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that day: "At the direction of the U.S. Commander-in-Chief (President Donald Trump), CENTCOM forces have begun additional strikes to degrade Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz." It added, "The United States is holding Iran accountable for its recent unjustified attacks against commercial vessels and civilian mariners freely navigating a critical international waterway." Reuters, citing a U.S. government official, reported that "the strikes on the 8th are expected to be larger in scale than those conducted the previous day."
Iranian media reported that a chain of explosions was heard in some southern regions. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that several powerful explosions rang out around Bandar Abbas and Sirik in the south. Residents of Konarak, adjacent to the port city of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman coast in the southeast, also said they heard several strong explosions.
President Trump, meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit held in Türkiye that day, criticized Iran's leadership as "trash, disgusting people" and said the ceasefire memorandum of understanding (MOU) "appears to be over." He also signaled additional strikes that day. However, at a press conference in the afternoon, he said he did not "think the war with Iran will start again," adding, "We are not pursuing a prolonged conflict."
