Iran war: Tensions rekindled between the United States and Iran on Tuesday as the Iranian military reportedly targeted commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz even as US President Donald Trump threatened that Washington will “finish the job” if a deal is not reached with Tehran.
Iran targets commercial ships in Hormuz
According to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, a Qatari oil tanker “Al-Raqayat” was targeted after allegedly attempting to transit through the Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz with US Navy support while ignoring repeated Iranian warnings.
“The situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to what it was before the US attack on Iran,” IRIB quoted Iranian officials as saying, warning all transit through the Strait must follow routes announced by Iran, otherwise the security of vessels cannot be guaranteed.
Earlier, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received reports from a tanker travelling south near Oman along the Strait of Hormuz coast that had been struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire.
Axios reported that at least two missiles fired by the Iranian military at commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. One of the ships was reportedly struck near the Omani coast, while a second commercial vessel was also hit by an Iranian missile, a US official said, adding that both vessels sustained significant damage, but no casualties were reported.
The Iranian strikes followed the one-week agreement between the US and Iran to halt strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump threatens to ‘finish the job’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington will either reach a deal with Tehran or “finish the job”, while claiming that US has the capability to cripple Tehran’s critical infrastructure if it chooses to do so.
“We are going to win one way or the other. We’re either going to make a deal, or we’re going to finish the job,” Trump said, adding that he would prefer a deal rather than military action that could affect Iran’s 91 million population.
“I’d rather make a deal because I don’t want to affect 91 million people. We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply, all of those big plants that they’ve built, big, beautiful modern plants. They had a lot of money. They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money,” Trump said.
How Tehran responded to Trump’s threat?
Trump also threatened to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, claiming the US could annihilate the country’s power grids within a few hours. “We can knock out their electricity and power-generating plants in, I would say, a small part of an afternoon. Every plant will be gone. And they know that,” he said.
Reacting sharply to Trump’s remarks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned that Tehran will not negotiate a final deal with Washington if the “threats continue”, and asked Trump to honor the commitments made in the 14 point Memorandum of Understanding signed between Iran and US.
“Para 13 of the MoU is clear: Negotiations on final Deal will not commence if threats continue Honor your signature,” Araghchi stated.
Araghchi also shared visuals from the grand funeral procession of slain former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and affirmed that the Iranian forces and the public are not afraid of the threats.
“Millions of proud Iranians rallied in unity to honor Grand Ayatollah Khamenei and his legacy. Neither them nor our Brave Armed Forces are moved by any threats,” he wrote.
Iran mourns Ali Khamenei, hold 3,000-KM funeral
The developments come amid the ongoing grand funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei, which began in Tehran on July 4 and will culminate in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown, on July 9, where the slain former Supreme Leader will be buried.
The Ali Khamenei funeral has emerged as an event like no other, with a nearly 3,000-kilometer-long funeral procession planned from Tehran to the holy city of Karbala, finally concluding in Khamenei’s native Mashhad, one of Iran’s holiest cities, where he will be laid to rest.
First published on: Jul 07, 2026 11:58 PM IST
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