Iranian Official Warns of Counterattacks as U.S. Forces Conduct Strikes

An Iranian official has warned renom that the Islamic Republic will deliver a “hard slap” in response to U.S. military actions, according to translations of two Persian-language posts on X.

Ebrahim Rezaei – a representative in Iran’s Parliament and spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission – wrote on X that the legacy of the late Khamenei taught Iran not to fear America, and that “falsehood will perish.” He added, “await the hard slap from the Iranians.”

Similarly, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Parliament, cautioned that the U.S. has not yet learned that bullying and broken promises carry costs. He stated: “Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit. Don’t flail around pointlessly, or you’ll sink even deeper: the Strait of Hormuz will open only with ‘Iranian arrangements,’ not American threats.”

Both officials posted their remarks on Wednesday after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced additional strikes against Iranian targets.

CENTCOM said: “At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait ofinesis. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”

U.S. military officials later provided further details. On July 8, CENTCOM noted that “U.S. forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets, including air‑defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.”

Earlier strikes on July 7 hit roughly 80 targets, including more than 60 Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, to impose heavy costs on Iran for violating the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

A similar report from Kuwait warned of intercepted ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and hostile drones detected in Kuwaiti airspace on the day of the incident.

Bahrain’s Defense Force announced that its air‑defense systems intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks early on the following morning, maintaining high combat readiness.

People gather at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla for a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 4, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, on July 8, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Source link