Iran war: Trump calls second set of US strikes 'retribution'

BY: DW

Publish: Thu, 9 Jul 2026 (10:53 IST) Updated: Thu, 9 Jul 2026 (10:53 IST)

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." 

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.

The siren has been sounded.. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place .

— Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) July 9, 2026

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.

Iran adviser: 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."

" فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاعْتَدُوا عَلَيْهِ بِمِثْلِ مَا اعْتَدَى عَلَيْكُمْ "

دشمن متجاوز و هم‌دستانش‌ به شدت تنبیه خواهند شد.

— محسن رضایی (@ir_rezaee) July 8, 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.

تتصدى حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الكويتية لهجمات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة معادية.

تنوه رئاسة الأركان العامة للجيش أن أصوات الانفجارات إن سمعت فهي نتيجة اعتراض منظومات الدفاع الجوي للهجمات المعادية.

يرجى من الجميع التقيد بتعليمات الأمن والسلامة الصادرة عن الجهات المختصة.… pic.twitter.com/jqR7huoRTO

— KUWAIT ARMY - الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) July 9, 2026

Strait of Hormuz will only open under 'Iranian arrangements' – Iranian negotiator

Iran's chief negotiator has warned the United States of the futility of continued military strikes and said the Strait of Hormuz will only be reopened on Tehran's terms.

"Don't flail around pointlessly, or you'll sink even deeper," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on social media on Thursday morning. "The Strait of Hormuz will only open with 'Iranian arrangements,' not American threats."

Ghalibaf, who is also the speaker of the Iranian parliament, also warned the US that Iran will continue to respond to strikes, saying:

"America still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you'll get hit."

آمریکا هنوز یاد نگرفته است که زورگویی و بدعهدی دیگر بی‌هزینه نیست. شفاف بگویم: بزنید، می‌خورید.

دست و پای بیهوده نزنید که بیشتر فرو خواهید رفت: تنگه هرمز، فقط با «ترتیبات ایرانی» باز می‌شود نه با تهدیدات آمریکایی.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) July 9, 2026