US launches strikes on Iran for a second day after Trump says agreement to end the war is ‘over’

The US strikes on Wednesday included an attack on the major Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which had already been attacked earlier this week. This image is taken from video footage of that earlier attack, posted on social media on Wednesday morning. Photograph: Social Media/Reuters View image in fullscreen The US strikes on Wednesday included an attack on the major Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, which had already been attacked earlier this week. This image is taken from video footage of that earlier attack, posted on social media on Wednesday morning. Photograph: Social Media/Reuters US launches strikes on Iran for a second day after Trump says agreement to end the war is ‘over’ Attacks on three locations across Iran came after three tankers in the strait of Hormuz were targeted on Tuesday Middle East crisis – live updates The US military carried out strikes on Iran for a second day, hours after president Donald Trump said that an interim agreement to end the war was “over” . Late on Wednesday Iranian state media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas in the strait of Hormuz; in Sirik, another southern coastal city; and the south-western Bushehr province, home to Iran’s nuclear-power-plant complex. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” US Central Command confirmed the strikes, posting on X: “At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday three cargo ships ⁠transiting the strait of Hormuz were attacked, leading to the most extensive exchange of fire between the two sides since the interim deal was signed last month. The US Treasury also revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Tehran to export oil. The latest escalation dented hopes of turning the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides on 17 June into a permanent deal to end the war. Iran said earlier on Wednesday it had attacked US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to the earlier US strikes on infrastructure. Wednesday night’s strikes were expected to be bigger than those carried in the first round, an unnamed US official told Reuters. Iranian state TV reported that further explosions were heard on Abu Musa Island. The island is one of three small islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates which provide the backbone of Iran’s control of the strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that the attacks on Bushehr province in southern Iran did not cause damage to the Bushehr nuclear power plant. US stock markets fell on Wednesday and Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped more than 5% to close to $80 a barrel, with the economic impacts of the war continuing to reverberate around the world. The US senator Bernie Sanders said of Trump’s action: “Restart