The U.S. military has struck more than 170 targets inside Iran over two days in July 2026 CBS News. On July 7 alone, strikes hit more than 80 locations using Navy and Air Force weapons CENTCOM. A second wave of strikes followed on July 8 CENTCOM.

The targets included military bases and infrastructure in Iranian port cities, according to the U.S. military New York Times. Iran's Health Ministry said 14 people were killed AOL/Reuters. The U.S. military has not released a full count of what was hit, but the spread of strikes across port areas suggests the goal was to target both military bases and facilities that Iran could use in the Persian Gulf.

This July campaign looks different from what the U.S. did in June. In June, American planes dropped specially designed bombs on Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment facility—a plant buried deep underground in a mountain Department of Defense. Those bombs, called GBU-57s, weigh 30,000 pounds and are built specifically to break through underground targets Department of Defense. The Pentagon said that operation took 15 years to plan and develop Department of Defense.

After the June strikes, the Pentagon said Iran was now further away from having a nuclear weapon Department of Defense. They described it as slowing Iran down, not destroying its entire nuclear program.

The July strikes are much broader. Instead of focusing just on nuclear facilities, these attacks hit military bases, weapons storage, and port areas. This suggests a different goal: limiting Iran's ability to fight back using ships, missiles, or armed groups it supports across the Middle East. It is not entirely clear from official statements why the campaign expanded. It could be because the nuclear strikes alone were seen as not enough, or because of something Iran did in the two weeks in between.

The death toll from these strikes is disputed. Iran's Health Ministry reported 14 people killed, but the U.S. military has not confirmed that number. During fighting, it is often hard to verify reports from either side in real time.

What happens next is still uncertain. News reports from July 10 mention that the U.S. and Iran are talking about a ceasefire even as the strikes continue CBS News. This is not unusual—in many conflicts, countries keep fighting and talking at the same time. Whether the U.S. is using these strikes to pressure Iran into a deal, or whether the military campaign will keep going regardless of negotiations, is not clear from what the Pentagon has said.