Tehran hits Gulf states after US strikes, escalating regional tensions

+ Middle East Tehran hits Gulf states after US strikes, escalating regional tensions July 9, 20264:59 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Emily Feng , A Martínez Tehran hits Gulf states after US strikes, escalating regional tensions Listen &middot; 3:25 3:25 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5886192/nx-s1-9841830" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript New U.S.

+ Sponsor Message Transcript A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: A ceasefire with Iran is effectively over after the U.S. struck sites in Iran for a second night in a row.

+ MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: And countries in the Middle East are back on high alert as they prepare for potentially more war. MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Emily Feng has been monitoring this newest outbreak in hostilities from Tel Aviv. Emily, tell us what we know so far about these strikes. EMILY FENG, BYLINE: Good morning. So U.S. Central Command says overnight, they hit about 90 military targets in southern Iran along its coast and the Strait of Hormuz. And as you mentioned, Iran has responded. It launched air attacks overnight at U.S. military infrastructure for a second day as well in Kuwait and Bahrain. There were sirens going off overnight across the Gulf. Kuwait's defense ministry said it was intercepting missiles and drones early this morning, my time. And I'm speaking to you from Tel Aviv, in Israel right now, where it's been quiet, but the military here says it's at full readiness for war against Iran, according to Israeli media. And last night, very suddenly, the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz canceled a public event because they needed to convene an emergency security meeting as they monitor this newest outbreak in the U.S.-Iran war. MARTÍNEZ: Emily, the U.S. and Iran were supposed to resume negotiations for a more permanent end of the war after Iran's former supreme leader's buried later today. Are those talks still on? FENG: Frankly, it is not clear. Despite... MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. FENG: ...This trade in fire and Trump's comments that the ceasefire's over in his eyes, Trump did not rule out more talks with Iran. But both the U.S. and Iran seem to be playing hardball with each other, and they seem to be waiting for the other country to back down first yet again. Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X, the social media site, after the second day of U.S. strikes began. And he was warning, quote, "if you strike, you will get hit." And he wrote that the Strait of Hormuz would only fully reopen on Iranian terms. MARTÍNEZ: OK. So that's pretty intense. What's the reaction been from countries around the region? FENG: It has been tense here to say the least. People in Israel, where I am, are bracing possibly for more attacks again from Iran or its proxies in the region. I should mention, Israel's government has generally been supportive of the U.S. resuming strikes in Iran. They were critical of this preliminary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. But there's also frustration here because there's a lack of clarity about what the U.S.' endgame is with this latest round of strikes on Iran. Iran and Israel are also closely watching what happens next door to me in Lebanon because Israel has a separate truce there with Hezbollah. That's the Iran-backed militia based in Lebanon. But that truce is linked to the ceasefire with Iran. And also, Israel continues to bomb in Lebanon, including a strike just this Tuesday, which killed four people, according to Lebanese local authorities and health officials. And then last night, the head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, he gave this fiery speech, blasting a recent Lebanese government agreement with Israel. Let's take a listen. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) NAIM QASSEM: (Non-English language spoken). FENG: So he - here he's talking about this framework agreement with Israel, saying it's entirely in Israel's interest that it's illegitimate, unconstitutional and illegal. So, A, as you can hear, there's a lot of moving pieces in the region. That means a lot of opportunities for conflicts, both old and new, to flare up. MARTÍNEZ: And we'll check in with you if that happens. That's NPR's Emily Feng in Tel Aviv. Emily, thanks. FENG: Thank you, A. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. 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