President Donald Trump has reportedly formally notified Congress that the US is again at war with Iran, promising to “hit them hard” and claiming “there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”
In a letter dated Friday and obtained by the New York Times, Politico, and other outlets, Trump announced renewed US strikes on the Islamic Republic, with the White House arguing that the move gives the administration a fresh 60-day timeline to request congressional approval.
“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight, and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow,” Trump said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.
The US Central Command announced shortly afterward that it had “begun launching the third consecutive night of strikes,” with heavy blasts reported across multiple regions of Iran.
Trump also claimed that Washington is “taking over” the Strait of Hormuz, the key energy supply bottleneck, and would charge vessels “20% on all cargo shipped” for protection. Washington would also reinstate its blockade of Iranian ports and bar passage for vessels belonging to Iran or its customers, he added.
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14 July 2026
Bahrain’s air defenses “intercepted and destroyed” at least two waves of “Iranian aerial attacks” over the past hour, according to Nabeel Alhamer, a media adviser to the country’s king.
Multiple US airstrikes allegedly targeted Bushehr Airport in Iran, with black smoke seen rising from the area, according to local reports and witnesses cited by the Mehr news agency.
13 July 2026
Air raid alerts have been activated in Bahrain, with the Interior Ministry warning citizens and residents “to remain calm, head to the nearest safe location, and follow updates through official channels.”
President Trump has also threatened to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a vast underground tunnel complex that Western analysts believe was built to protect sensitive parts of Tehran’s nuclear program even from the most powerful conventional US bunker-buster bombs.
“We’re going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready. Let them know we’re coming, okay? There’s not a damn thing they can do about it,” Trump told Hugh Hewitt.
Known as Kolang Gaz La, the site has been under construction since around 2020 and consists of multiple deeply buried tunnel complexes carved into a mountain south of Natanz.
“We’re watching it closely. We see no activity there. They’re not doing well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up. So they don’t like talking about it. But we’ll probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon,” Trump said.
Several explosions were also reportedly heard in the coastal city of Konarak in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province, with unverified videos purportedly showing the strike circulating on local Telegram channels.
The UAE Defense Ministry has accused Iran of targeting two Emirati tankers with cruise missiles in Omani territorial waters in the southern Strait of Hormuz.
The Mombasa and the Bahia sustained damage after fires broke out on board, but the blazes have since been brought under control, according to the statement. One Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa was killed and eight others were injured, including four seriously, the ministry said.
Abu Dhabi condemned the alleged attack as a “serious violation” of international law and said it reserved the right to respond and take measures to protect the country’s security and interests.
Several explosions have been heard in Jam, a city in Iran’s southern Bushehr Province, and on Qeshm Island, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.
At least three explosions were heard in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, while six were reported on Kish Island, according to Press TV.
US President Donald Trump called Iran’s leadership “stone-cold crazy people” and stopped just short of announcing an intention to assassinate its members when asked, “Do you know where they are? Can you kill them?”
“Yeah, I do. But we don’t want to talk about that,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “But we will. We will be hitting them. Like, as an example, we’re going to hit them very hard tonight. And we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it. They have nothing. They have nothing going other than they have big mouths.”
The US Central Command has announced that it has begun "launching the third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, at the commander-in-chief’s direction.”
“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” it added in a post on X.