President Says that the Ceasefire is Off and the War is back on!
by Tom Gantert, The Epoch Times.com, Juy 8, 2026
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Tuesday it launched a series of precision strikes against Iranian targets after Iran attacked three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they targeted 85 key U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday.
CENTCOM said the operation hit over 80 Iranian targets as an “immediate response” to Iran’s “clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire.”
Targets included Iran’s air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 IRGC small boats in and near the strait “to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor.”
Upon launch, CENTCOM said the airstrikes were intended to impose “heavy costs” on Iran for what it described as attacks on commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in international waters.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump announces he believes the ceasefire with Iran is "OVER"
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 8, 2026
"To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them... There's SICK people.. They're vicious, violent people.
"It's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're LIARS."
Obviously,… pic.twitter.com/rbRGwpsRar
The vessels were identified as Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedyan, and Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity.
On Wednesday, the IRGC said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against key U.S. military sites in Bandar Salman, Bahrain’s Fifth Naval District and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and shot down a U.S. MQ9 drone attempting to interfere in the operation.
The Kuwaiti army said its air defenses were responding to “hostile” missile and drone attacks.
There was no immediate reaction from the U.S. military to the IRGC claims.
The strikes come amid tensions following reports that several vessels transiting the strait without complying with Iran’s designated navigation procedures have been struck in recent days.
Iran’s state-owned news agency said Iran has “maintained restrictions on navigation in the Strait” since the war began on Feb. 28.
After Iran attacked multiple tankers, the United States revoked its authorization for Iran to sell oil, according to a U.S. official.
CENTCOM confirms completion of strikes against Islamic Republic of Iran:
— Urgent Intel (@urgentintel) July 8, 2026
• 80+ targets hit!
• 60+ small boats destroyed
• Also destroyed air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, & anti-ship missile capabilities. https://t.co/Ugh7ES1wZK pic.twitter.com/GDT7I1BsRw
The official told The Epoch Times on Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the financial enforcement and sanctions arm of the agency, is revoking a license that allowed Tehran to produce, sell, and deliver oil under a memorandum of understanding that was signed by Iran and the United States in mid-June to end hostilities.
“The Office of Foreign Assets Control is revoking GL X, which authorized the sale of Iranian oil,” the official said. “As President Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the memorandum in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based.”
President Donald Trump was in Turkey on July 7 when he said he had been “testing” NATO allies to see whether they would support the United States during its war with Iran.
Trump said the United States did not need help but wanted to know whether allies would stand with Washington. He criticized several NATO members for declining to support the operation and questioned why the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars on NATO if allies are “not there for us.”
The United States and Iran have been under a fragile ceasefire since April.
