Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- US forces launch second wave of strikes against Iran
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US President Trump calls strikes ‘retribution’ for Iranian retaliation
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Aim is to ‘further degrade [Iran’s] ability to threaten freedom of navigation in Strait of Hormuz’
Welcome to DW’s coverage of the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran. Catch up on previous developments here.
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Skip next section Kuwait responding to ‘hostile’ air attacks07/09/2026July 9, 2026
Kuwait responding to ‘hostile’ air attacks
Kuwait‘s air defenses were in operation intercepting “hostile missile and drone attacks” early on Thursday morning, the country’s military confirmed.
“The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defense systems intercepting hostile attacks,” read a post on social media without specifying the origin of the attacks.
Like Bahrain, Kuwait was also targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes on Wednesday.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GmraSkip next section Iran advisor: Enemy will be ‘severely punished’07/09/2026July 9, 2026
Iran advisor: Enemy will be ‘severely punished’
Mohsen Rezaee, a military officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and senior adviser to the country’s supreme leader, said late on Wednesday night that Iran’s enemies would be “severely punished.”
Posting on social media, Rezaee first quoted a verse from the Quran reading, in Arabic: “So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the like manner that he has assaulted you.”
He then added, in Persian: “The aggressor enemy and its accomplices will be severely punished.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5GmrSSkip next section Alarm warnings in Bahrain and Qatar07/09/2026July 9, 2026
Alarm warnings in Bahrain and Qatar
Bahrain‘s Interior Ministry said on Thursday morning that air raid sirens were sounded in the kingdom’s capital, Manama.
There was no specific reference as to the provenance of the threat, but the country had been targeted by Iran on Wednesday in response to an initial wave of US strikes on Iran on Tuesday night.
At the same time, the Reuters news agency reported that residents of neighboring Qatar had received an “elevated security threat warning” on their mobile phones, followed shortly after by an all clear message.
Both Qatar and Bahrain are home to significant US military installations.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GmrKSkip next section Trump: Strikes are ‘retribution’ for Iranian retaliation07/09/2026July 9, 2026
Trump: Strikes are ‘retribution’ for Iranian retaliation
US President Donald Trump has said the fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday night is “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid a series of short, uncommented videos in the last 30 minutes, presumably showing the latest missile strikes on Iran, Trump wrote in a social media post, “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Iran targeted three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in attacks which appear to have prompted Trump to declare the fragile ceasefire over and resume strikes on Iran.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump made a series of seemingly contradictory remarks on the scope of the war.
He said the back-and-forth fighting would not lead to “long-term” military action and that “nything that happens is going to happen very fast.” However, he also suggested the US military might “just finish the job.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5GmnUSkip next section New strikes to be bigger than previous night — US official07/08/2026July 8, 2026
New strikes to be bigger than previous night — US official
The fresh wave of American strikes against Iran will be greater in number than those carried out on Tuesday, a US official told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday night, US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed its forces had struck more than 80 targets, including Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites and 60 IRGC small boats.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it hit US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation throughout Wednesday.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GmnISkip next section Iran: Where have strikes been reported?07/08/2026July 8, 2026
Iran: Where have strikes been reported?
The fresh strikes on Iran come after US President Donald Trump said earlier on Wednesday that the US would “probably hit them hard again tonight.”
Iranian state media have reported explosions in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik.
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has also reported explosions on Abu Musa island in the Strait of Hormuz.
It also said shrapnel from projectiles struck a hospital in Chabahar, further eastwards along Iran‘s southern coast.
https://p.dw.com/p/5GmmrSkip next section Welcome to our coverage07/08/2026July 8, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Sean Sinico Editor
Hello and welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States.
For the second time in 24 hours, US forces have launched strikes on targets inside Iran.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced “additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
It said Washington is “holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping.”
The continued strikes come after US President Donald Trump declared on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara that a ceasefire agreed with Tehran was over.
Stay with us as we provide updates throughout the night.
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