WASHINGTON (July 9, 2026) – On Wednesday, the U.S. launched multiple strikes against Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial ships earlier this week. According to the U.S. Central Command, the strikes targeted 90 sites, including missile facilities, drones, and air defense systems.
In response, Iran launched strikes against U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. At the recent NATO summit, President Trump announced that the the ceasefire was over.
For more analysis on these developments, please consider Gordon Gray, the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the GW Elliott School of International Affairs. Gray worked for the U.S. government for 35 years. Gray’s public service included U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia from 2009-2012, Senior Advisory to the Ambassador in Iraq 2008-2009, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2005- 2008. His other foreign assignments included Egypt (where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2002 until 2005), Canada, Jordan, Pakistan, and Morocco, where he began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer.
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