US strikes on five Iranian provinces kill 14, injure 78

Hossein Kermanpour, head of the Iranian Health Ministry's Public Relations and Information Center, said Thursday that American attacks on July 8 and 9 targeted five provinces and killed 14 people while wounding 78 others in the latest wave of violence to rock the Islamic Republic. "The United States targeted five provinces of Iran with attacks on July 8 and 9," Kermanpour wrote on the social media platform X, adding that 47 victims remain hospitalized while the rest received treatment and were discharged.

Three of the fatalities occurred in a strike near the southwestern city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province, Valiollah Hayati, the province's deputy governor for security affairs, told the state news agency IRNA. The remaining victims were killed in strikes across four other provinces that have not been individually identified, according to health officials.

Washington declares ceasefire agreement ended

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared that the Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding reached on June 17 was "over," effectively terminating the accord and triggering fresh hostilities. The escalation followed US accusations that Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting successive waves of strikes on Iranian military targets along the southern coast.

Iran retaliates with regional strikes

US Central Command said the operations struck more than 170 military sites over two days, including air defense systems, missile infrastructure and facilities belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran has responded with drone and missile attacks targeting American military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, officials in Tehran said.