US Launches Strikes on Iran After Hormuz Ship Attacks, CENTCOM Says

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The United States military launched a series of retaliatory strikes against Iran on Tuesday, after Tehran attacked three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with US Central Command declaring the Iranian strikes a "clear violation" of the ceasefire agreed under last month's memorandum of understanding and saying the American response was designed to "impose heavy costs" for targeting civilian-crewed vessels in an international waterway.

CENTCOM confirmed the strikes in a statement on Tuesday, saying its forces had acted in direct response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels. Iranian state media reported explosions near Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, and the port of Sirik along Iran's southern coast, all locations with significant military and strategic significance to Iran's naval operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Three Ships, a Broken Ceasefire, and a Familiar Pattern

The Iranian attacks that triggered Tuesday's US response followed the expiration of a one-week agreement between Washington and Tehran on halting attacks in the strait. Axios reported on Monday, July 7, 2026, citing two US officials, that Iran fired at least two missiles at commercial vessels transiting Hormuz on Monday night. The UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed a tanker traveling south near the Omani coast was struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire. A second vessel was separately confirmed as struck by an Iranian missile, with a third commercial ship also reported hit. Both ships suffered significant damage with no casualties initially reported.

CENTCOM explicitly described the Iranian attacks as a clear violation of last month's ceasefire, a characterization that mirrors language the command has used consistently throughout the conflict. A US official had previously stated after an earlier round of Iranian ceasefire violations: "Iran had a chance to stop shooting... and they didn't take it."

Targets Chosen for Strategic Significance

The selection of targets near Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, and Sirik is operationally significant. Bandar Abbas is Iran's primary naval base on the Strait of Hormuz and the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's operations in the waterway. Qeshm Island sits directly within the strait and has been a central hub for Iranian drone and missile operations against commercial shipping throughout the conflict. The port of Sirik, located on Iran's southern coastline east of Hormuz, has featured in previous rounds of strikes related to Iran's maritime interdiction capabilities.

The International Crisis Group confirmed in its Strait of Hormuz trigger list that CENTCOM has previously struck Iranian military targets, including "air defenses, drone storage, cruise missiles, targeting radars, minelaying capabilities, and surface-to-air missile systems," in response to attacks on commercial vessels, a targeting template that Tuesday's strikes appear to follow.

A Peace Deal Under Its Greatest Stress

Tuesday's military exchange represents the most serious challenge to the memorandum of understanding signed by Presidents Trump and Pezeshkian on June 17, 2026, just three weeks ago. The agreement had already been under significant strain. Indirect talks between the US and Iran in Doha last week ended without meaningful progress on the Hormuz question. Iran did not attend technical talks on one occasion, citing unmet MOU conditions, with a Supreme Leader's office official stating that Tehran was still assessing whether Washington had fulfilled its obligations, specifically regarding access to unfrozen funds.

The US Treasury Department separately revoked the general license allowing Iranian oil sales on Tuesday, tightening economic pressure on Tehran simultaneously with the military strikes, in a dual-track response that reflects Washington's escalating frustration with Iran's compliance record under the memorandum.

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had previously warned on social media that Iranian armed forces were prepared to respond to American threats, writing: "No matter how much they talk, it is we who act." Iran's parliamentary security committee spokesman Ibrahim Rezaei told Kurdistan 24 exclusively on Monday, June 8, 2026, that the era of Iranian restraint was over and that both Washington and Jerusalem should expect "worse and more painful days ahead."

The NATO Summit Backdrop

Tuesday's strikes unfolded as President Trump attended the NATO summit in Ankara, managing a renewed Gulf military crisis from the margins of a major alliance gathering. European allies had been waiting for clarity on the state of the US-Iran peace deal before committing their own naval forces to Hormuz operations, with France and Britain having assembled a potential naval mission on standby. The resumption of Iranian attacks and Washington's military response now place that European deliberation in a fundamentally different strategic context.

Trump had already signaled that military consequences would follow Iranian violations. He had previously written that Iranian attacks on ships were "a very foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement," and had told Fox News he could do "whatever I want" after the 60-day period ended. The strikes on Tuesday suggest that patience, already thin, has run out entirely.

Whether Tuesday's exchange marks a temporary military correction within a surviving peace framework, or the beginning of a return to the full-scale conflict that the June 17 memorandum was meant to end, will depend heavily on how Tehran responds in the hours and days ahead.