US strikes Iran for second night, hits strategic port of Chabahar, Tehran retaliates

 

Washington/ Tehran, July 9The United States struck Iran for a second straight night on Thursday, with explosions rocking the southeastern port city of Chabahar and other stretches of Iran's coastline. It's the first time American forces have hit Chabahar since the ceasefire collapsed, pushing the conflict beyond its original focus on the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump vowed harsher retaliation over attacks on commercial shipping and declared the truce dead.

The strike on Chabahar is notable because it's Iran's only deep-water oceanic port and a key link to the Indian Ocean,one that India has invested heavily in as part of a trade corridor connecting South Asia with Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Hitting Chabahar implies a real broadening of the war's geography. The Pentagon said its forces have now hit roughly 90 targets along Iran's coast, aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump had already warned that things would "get much worse" if Iran kept targeting vessels in the strait, and declared the ceasefire "over." Iran's response came from its top negotiator, who said the strait would only reopen on "Iranian arrangements" - not American threats - and promised retaliation for any further attacks.

The timing is striking as the latest wave of strikes landed on the final day of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's funeral, with attention now turning to whether his son and successor, Mojtaba, will appear publicly.

Power outages were reported across parts of Chabahar following the strikes, while Iranian media said emergency crews responded to damaged infrastructure. Two of the three disrupted power lines had been restored and that the third would be back in service soon.

Several explosions were also reported further along the coast in Konarak, Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Jask. State television counted eight blasts in Bandar Abbas alone, said two missiles hit Sirik and Jask, and reported that two projectiles struck Abu Musa, an island disputed between Iran and the UAE. Air defenses were activated in Bandar Abbas.

Elsewhere, a fire broke out at an IRGC barracks in Bushehr. The full scope of the damage still isn't clear.

Trump framed the latest round as payback, saying it came "in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran," and warned that any further shipping attacks would draw an even harder response. Iran, for its part, accused Washington of violating the ceasefire outright and warned of retaliation against US forces in the region.

That retaliation came quickly. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Bahrain's military said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed several incoming Iranian missiles and drones, calling the attacks a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law" aimed at civilians and private property.

The IRGC, in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB, said it had specifically targeted Bahrain's Shaikh Isa Air Base and the Juffair district — home to Naval Support Activity Bahrain, the primary hub for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Gulf.

The broader worry now is what this means for maritime trade through the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, given how central both waterways are to global shipping.