Trump Weighs New Iran Strikes After Tanker Attacks

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- Trump is weighing new strikes on Iran as the US presses Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abide by a truce that collapsed within weeks of being signed
- Iran's Revolutionary Guard struck two more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on July 31, 2026, the same day Kuwait intercepted drones
- Karoline Leavitt accused Iran of breaking the MoU, "shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers," and warned "Iran will continue to pay" until Tehran comes to the table on terms Trump deems meaningful
- Trump told reporters at Camp David "we just want to win" and "We'll be hitting them very hard," signaling he expects US military action against Iran to continue for some time
- The US-Iran memorandum of understanding — signed last month to halt the fighting — fell apart after Iran resumed strikes on commercial shipping in the strait
Why it matters: The diplomatic off-ramp from last month's US-Iran MoU is gone: Iran's IRGC hit two more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on July 31 while Kuwait intercepted drones, and Trump told reporters at Camp David he expects military action to continue. Gulf states like Kuwait are now directly in the crossfire of a shipping war in the world's most critical oil chokepoint.



