IRAN WAR: Iran, U.S. trade second day of airstrikes; Khamenei to be buried

Here's the latest on the Iran war on Thursday

Published Jul 09, 2026  •  2 minute read

This screen grab taken from video footage shared by the US Military Central Command on X and made available via AFPTV on July 9, 2026 shows a fresh round of strikes against Iran. Photo by - /AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

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The United States and Iran have traded airstrikes for a second straight day on Thursday.

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The U.S. attacked the eastern Iranian cities of Iranshahr, Bandar Abbas, Konarak, Chabahar, and Bushehr, as well as Aq Qala in northeastern Iran. In retaliation, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it attacked two American bases in Kuwait and two in Bahrain.

This comes as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by Israeli airstrikes in late February that triggered the Iran war, will be buried in a ceremony that will be attended by family only.

There’s speculation on whether Khamenei’s son and Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will make his first public appearance since his father was assassinated.

Here’s the latest on the Iran war on Thursday:

U.S. launches new wave of attacks, Iran retaliates

The U.S. military has unleashed another round of attacks on Iran for a second straight day.

Late Wednesday, the U.S. attacked the eastern Iranian cities of Iranshahr, Bandar Abbas, Konarak, Chabahar, and Bushehr, as well as Aq Qala in northeastern Iran, Al Jazeera reported.

State news agency IRNA reported that a firefighter was killed in an attack on the Iranshahr airport.

On Thursday, U.S. Central Command said that it completed “an additional round of strikes against Iran … to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.” They noted that 90 Iranian military targets were hit, which included ncluding air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.”

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In retaliation, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it attacked two American bases in Kuwait and two in Bahrain. Before the attack, air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain while the Ministry of Defence in Kuwait reported that its air defences were confronting rocket and drone attacks.

At least 14 killed in U.S. strikes across Iran

Iran’s Health Ministry said that 14 people have been killed and 78 wounded in the past two days of U.S. strikes, per CNN.

The latest American attack targeted more than 90 locations across Iran, U.S. Central Command has said, with Iranian media reporting explosions and strikes in cities on Iran’s southern coast, and the country’s northern Golestan province on the Caspian Sea.

Khamenei burial will be family-only affair

It will be a family-only affair during the burial of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s burial today in Mashhad, Iran, according to state media.

There is speculation on whether Mojtaba Khamenei will make his first public appearance as supreme leader. He was appointed after his father was assassinated in late February by an Israeli airstrike that jumpstarted the Iran war, per CNN.

It’s unclear whether Mojtaba Khamenei will attend his father’s burial as he’s been absent during the week of funeral ceremonies. His brothers, Mostafa, Masoud and Meysam, had represented the family during the week of processions.

Security has been tightened after Israel said last week that Khamenei had been “marked for death.”

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