The United States and Iran continued military clashes across the Middle East for a third straight day. After U.S. forces carried out large-scale airstrikes, including near nuclear weapons facilities on Iranian soil, Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. bases located in pro-U.S. countries in the region in retaliation. Because of this, experts said the interim truce agreement between the two countries, dramatically reached on the 29th of last month, is effectively on the brink of being scrapped.
According to combined reports from major outlets including the AP and Iran's state-run IRNA on the 10th, U.S. Central Command on the 9th local time launched airstrikes targeting 90 sites across Iran. The United States was said to have focused on military runways and missile launchers as primary targets. The United States explained, "We carried out this strike to neutralize Iran's military capabilities that threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for global crude oil and natural gas."
Iran immediately moved to retaliate. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps expanded the scope of attacks by launching 10 ballistic missiles and drones toward U.S. bases stationed in Gulf countries including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. In the process, one person was injured in Kuwait by debris from an intercepted missile. Iran's state-run IRNA reported, "A military base on the outskirts of the southern city of Bushehr was hit by a projectile fired by U.S. forces." Bushehr is home to Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant. Ehsan Jahaniyan, Bushehr Province's deputy governor for political and security affairs, said, "A military base located on the outskirts of Bushehr was targeted and struck by projectiles from U.S.-Israeli enemy forces." Iran's Health Ministry said on the 9th that at least 14 people were killed and 78 were injured in Iran over two days of U.S. airstrikes.
As the two sides' military clashes escalated, the interim truce agreement barely arranged on the 29th of last month entered the process of being scrapped. U.S. President Donald Trump declared on the 8th that the truce had ended, saying, "Negotiators are wasting their time." Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the parliament speaker leading Iran's peace negotiation team, likewise said on his X account on the 9th, "The United States still has not realized that when it bullies and breaks promises, there is a price to pay," adding, "Let me be clear: if you strike, you will be struck."