Tehran (AFP) – The US military struck Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump warned he was "not finished" with a war that has already cost Washington $37.5 billion.
Issued on: 22/07/2026 - 15:16
4 min Reading time
Fighting over the strategic strait led to the collapse of a preliminary deal between the United States and Iran, but top US diplomat Marco Rubio again reiterated Washington's stance that it was willing to find a negotiated agreement with Tehran."We remain open to working it out in a negotiated way. But right now, they don't seem to be serious about that," Rubio said at a Southeast Asia ministers' meeting in Manila.He insisted that the US was right to strike Iran because it was attacking Hormuz shipping and planned to rebuild its missile and drone capabilities.Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had previously said that diplomatic exchanges with Washington through mediators were continuing.On Wednesday afternoon, a US missile hit Larak, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported, saying the extent of the damage was being investigated. The US military has repeatedly targeted Iran's many islands in the Gulf and the strait since hostilities resumed. As the war nears the five-month mark and November legislative elections approach, Trump has faced intense political pressure to end the conflict, which is unpopular even with segments of his base.Critics have pointed to the cost of the war, which Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday had soared to $37.5 billion, defending a request for tens of billions in additional funding for the military.But Trump himself has bucked the pressure, saying: "We're not finished at all... we're not leaving right now.Pickaxe MountainThe US military said on Tuesday it had launched an eleventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran, saying it targeted military sites to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz".
