"... it's getting worse"

Trump Declares Ceasefire with Iran Over

For U.S. President Donald Trump, the ceasefire is over. On Wednesday evening, the U.S. military once again attacked targets in Iran.(Bild: Krone-Collage/EPA/FILIP SINGER, AFP)

After U.S. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire over, the U.S. carried out airstrikes against Iran for the second time in 24 hours. “As far as I’m concerned, the ceasefire is over,” Trump said at the NATO summit in Turkey, warning Iran that it was in for “a rough night.” He added that if Iran retaliated, things would “get much worse.” Iran confirmed the wave of attacks. 

On Wednesday evening, the U.S. military launched another wave of attacks. The goal, according to the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) in a post on the X platform, was to “further weaken Iran’s capabilities that would threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” Iran is “responsible for the latest unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews,” the post continued.

Iran Confirms Wave of Attacks
Iranian air defenses engaged enemy targets near the city of Bandar Abbas, according to the Iranian news agency Mehr. Explosions were also reportedly heard near Konarak and Chabahar. Further explosions were reported from the port city of Bushehr and from Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf. As the state-run news agency IRNA reported overnight, buildings at the airport in the city of Iranshahr were also damaged by projectiles. A firefighter was killed, according to the report.

According to local military sources, the Gulf state of Kuwait came under fire for the second night in a row. The air defense forces are repelling enemy missile and drone attacks, the military of the U.S.-allied country announced on the X platform. In Bahrain, too, sirens wailed again, just as they had the night before. The population should seek shelter and remain calm, the Interior Ministry of the island nation in the Persian Gulf announced. Bahrain and Kuwait, like other Gulf states, have come under Iranian fire on multiple occasions. They are home to U.S. military bases located just a few hundred kilometers from Iran.

For U.S. President Donald Trump, the ceasefire is over, as he stated at the NATO summit. Just hours later, the U.S. military struck targets in Iran again.(Bild: Krone-Collage/EPA/FILIP SINGER, AFP)

“Retaliation for the Bombing of Ships”
The U.S. president had ordered the new attacks and, following the renewed wave of strikes and his return from Turkey, posted several videos and images on his Truth Social platform—at least one of which had been recorded in 2025. He wrote: “This is retaliation for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If this happens again, it will be much worse!”

“They violate the agreement every day. They agree to everything and then they hold a press conference and say we didn’t even discuss it,” Trump had said earlier, referring to the mullahs. The leaders in Tehran were “behaving very badly.” Dealing with them was “a complete waste of time.” Nevertheless, he would discuss the negotiations with Tehran with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They were free to continue negotiating if they wanted to.

However, Iran must understand one thing: “Every time they meet with us, we strike back 20 times harder.”

Here is the post from the U.S. military command:

According to Iran, a counterattack is in the works
Iranian media reported on Wednesday evening that air defenses had been deployed near the city of Bandar Abbas. Explosions were also reportedly heard in two other locations. According to the Iranian news agency Nour, the Iranian armed forces are already preparing a counterattack—specifically against U.S. military bases throughout the Gulf region.

Fourth wave of attacks since the peace agreement
This wave of attacks is the second within 24 hours and the fourth since the peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran was signed. Following Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and on U.S. bases in the Middle East, the U.S. had already bombed targets in Iran on Tuesday night. In the port city of Bushehr, home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant, a series of explosions occurred; the Iranian Revolutionary Guards also reported the death of one of their members in the city of Mahshahr.

Immediate Retaliatory Measures by Iran
According to its own statements, Iran subsequently attacked U.S. bases in other countries in the region as a retaliatory measure. Air raid sirens were sounded in Kuwait and Bahrain. According to reports from Bahrain, air defenses responded to several Iranian attacks. Iran’s “aggression” had been repelled, said Nabil al-Ahmar, an advisor to the royal court of the Gulf state.

After weeks of fighting between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, a provisional agreement had been reached just last month that was intended to create space for intensive negotiations to end the war. These talks are currently stalled. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since early April in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.