Two rounds of strikes in 24 hours, Trump declares ceasefire broken, Iran vows retaliation.

Author: Xiao Yanyan, Jinshi Data

According to the US Central Command, the US military launched a new round of strikes against Iran on Wednesday evening, just hours after President Trump declared the end of an eight-week ceasefire.

In a statement, the Central Command said the strikes were aimed at "further degrading its ability to threaten freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz." The statement added: "The United States is holding Iran accountable for its recent unprovoked attacks on commercial shipping and civilian crew members."

According to Iranian media, explosions occurred in Bandar Abbas and Sirik, the same locations targeted in the first round of US strikes on Tuesday evening. A senior US official revealed that this round of strikes was broader than Tuesday's, hitting multiple identical targets and also covering missile and drone storage areas around the Arabian Gulf.

This latest round of strikes is the second military operation in 24 hours and the clearest signal yet that efforts to reach a permanent peace agreement are unraveling. In addition to ordering Tuesday's strikes, Trump revoked the license allowing Iran to sell oil on the open market, cutting off Tehran's main economic benefit from the temporary peace deal with the US.

Speaking earlier Wednesday at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said he believed the ceasefire deal was over and warned that more strikes were likely.

"We hit them hard last night... and we'll probably hit them hard again tonight," Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday. "I'll give them a little warning—tonight we'll hit them hard."

In his remarks, Trump called Iranian leaders "scum," "liars," and "brutal thugs," threatening to re-impose a naval blockade on Tehran and raising the possibility of targeting civilian infrastructure in future military strikes. He said the US could escalate pressure by bombing infrastructure targets such as desalination plants and power plants.

According to Al Jazeera, Trump said that oil prices would rise "slightly" as a result of the strikes on Iran. When asked about the impact of US strikes on Iran over the past day, Trump said: "Every time we hit [Iran], oil prices go up slightly, about $2." When a reporter asked whether a new round of conflict between the US and Iran could lead to higher oil prices, he agreed and insisted that the increase would be limited to $2.

Trump said he did not believe there would be another war with Iran. If anything happened, it would end very quickly. He said: "We are not looking for a long war. If Iran attacks, we strike back. Any military action, once it happens, will be swift."

According to Iran's Press TV, informed sources in Iran's security sector said Iran would also strike enemy targets, and would do so at a ratio of at least "two to one." Iran would reopen the strait on its own terms in accordance with the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. If Iran faces any new attack, it will close the Strait of Hormuz. Iran will not back down on the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Every threat from the enemy will be met with a strong response, and on this issue, Iran will not distinguish between the US and regional partners.

Local time early today (July 9), according to Iran's Nour News, citing a military source, Iran's Armed Forces missile units and drone units would launch a large-scale strike on US military bases in the Middle East "within the next few minutes."

The latest escalation began earlier this week when Iran fired missiles and drones at three ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, including a liquefied natural gas tanker. On Tuesday, the US military said it struck more than 80 targets in and around the strait. Iran responded by striking Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which host US military bases.

These tit-for-tat military actions followed weeks of negotiations between the US and Iran. In June, Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran, agreeing to suspend the war for 60 days and reopen the strait, while the two sides discussed more difficult issues. However, Iran has continued trying to control the key waterway, warning ships to only use routes it has approved.

According to Iranian media, explosions were reported in Sirik, Qeshm Island, and Bandar Abbas—multiple locations in or near the strait—on Tuesday. Senior US officials said Abu Musa Island and the Tunb Islands in the strait were also hit.

The US military had attacked these targets between the outbreak of war on February 28 and the ceasefire taking effect on April 7. But the official said Iran had since rebuilt its military capabilities in the area, such as deploying small portable radars to replace destroyed fixed stations.

The official said that since the ceasefire, Iran had dug up and repaired hundreds of missiles and launchers that had been damaged or buried in US strikes. According to the source, the Iranian regime currently has more than half of its pre-war missile and launcher inventory available.

Amid the new round of US military strikes on Iran and Trump's declaration that the temporary peace deal is void, international oil prices jumped to a two-week high, reigniting concerns about the free flow of crude from a key energy producing region.

Brent crude futures rose nearly 7% in late Wednesday trading, after the US Central Command confirmed that a second night of strikes against Iran had begun. Earlier in the day, the contract briefly broke above $80 per barrel.

Gregory Brew, a geopolitical analyst at Eurasia Group, said: "The current exchange of fire largely stems from the ambiguity in the memorandum of understanding and the question of what status Iran actually has in the Strait of Hormuz. The result is an escalation of violence, and while it may not return to a full-scale conflict, the time required for the strait's navigation to return to pre-war levels will be greatly extended."

The rebound in oil prices signals a potential new shock to the global energy market, which has yet to fully digest the impact of the largest supply disruption in history. The resumption of fighting will make it more complex for shipowners and regional oil producers to decide whether to pass through this key waterway connecting major OPEC producers in the Persian Gulf to global markets.