President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire with Iran is “over” on July 8, 2026, speaking from a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The declaration came hours after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missile and drone attacks on roughly 85 US military installations across Bahrain and Kuwait.
The IRGC strikes targeted high-value US positions, including the Fifth Fleet headquarters at Isa Air Base and Ali Al Salem Air Base. Kuwait’s defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones during the barrage, according to reports from the NATO summit.
Iran framed the attacks as retaliation for previous US airstrikes that had hit over 80 Iranian military and radar positions. Those US strikes, in turn, were a response to Iran’s alleged attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump’s language at the NATO summit didn’t exactly suggest de-escalation was on the table. He reportedly referred to Iranian leaders as “scum” and “sick people,” rhetoric that marks a sharp departure from even the combative tone that characterized the original conflict’s early stages.
The ceasefire that just collapsed was established in mid-June 2026 through a memorandum aimed at curbing hostilities. It lasted roughly three weeks. Before that, an April 2026 agreement had also failed, making this at least the second major ceasefire breakdown since the conflict began.
