Explosions Shake Southern Iran as U.S. Escalates Military Campaign

July 9 () — Explosions rocked several cities across southern Iran on Wednesday night, including the strategic Abu Musa Island in the Strait of Hormuz, as the United States launched another round of airstrikes against Iranian military targets.

Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, reported explosions on Abu Musa Island and in parts of Bushehr Province, while additional blasts were heard near Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Konarak, and Jask.

The broadcaster also claimed that shrapnel from projectiles used in the U.S. strikes struck Imam Ali Hospital in the southeastern port city of Chabahar.

The strikes reportedly rattled several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some communities without electricity.

Confirming the operation, the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest attacks were carried out to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation” through the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Tehran of endangering one of the world’s busiest maritime trade corridors.

The latest military action followed President Donald Trump’s warning that Washington would intensify its response after accusing Iran of attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Speaking ahead of a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump also suggested that the memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran on June 17 to pave the way for ending hostilities had effectively collapsed.

“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” the U.S. president said when asked whether the agreement remained in force.

Iran responded with a second consecutive day of missile and drone attacks targeting Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which host major U.S. military bases. Air raid sirens sounded in both countries as regional air defence systems were activated.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence said its forces intercepted incoming missiles and drones before they reached their targets, while neighbouring Qatar briefly issued an elevated security threat alert before later announcing that the situation had stabilised.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that its military response would be expanded to other U.S. bases across the Middle East should Washington launch further attacks.

The latest escalation also comes as Iran prepares to bury its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.

Khamenei was killed in U.S. strikes earlier this year, and his funeral procession has drawn millions of mourners across Iran and Iraq over several days.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, declared that Tehran would not surrender control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through U.S. threats,” Qalibaf wrote on X.