Day 132 of the WarThursday, July 9, 2026
Day 132 — Khamenei's Remains Are Flown to Mashhad for Burial as CENTCOM's Second Wave Hits 90 Targets Along the Strait; U.S. Cruise Missiles Cut Railway Bridges in Northern Iran in the First Infrastructure Strikes Since the April Ceasefire; Israeli Jets Hit Golestan and Bahrain Reportedly Joins In; Ghalibaf Warns 'If You Strike, You'll Get Hit'
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MashhadStrait of HormuzStrait of Hormuz
End of an Era — Khamenei's Remains Flown to Mashhad for Burial
Iran- Khamenei's burial takes place tonight, with Iran's air force making a rare public appearance as a fighter jet escorted the aircraft carrying his remains to Mashhad. Open Source Intel calls it the end of an era: the economy is in shambles and there are serious divisions within the leadership.source
- Placards displayed at Khamenei's funeral ceremony carried an open threat: 'Dear officials! What you should take from Trump is not a concession — it is his life.' Observers noted the irony that the man hit by the U.S. had his coffin escorted in American armored Chevrolets.source
Second Wave — 90 Targets Hit, Railway Bridges Cut, Israeli Jets Over Golestan
Iran- CENTCOM announced its forces completed an additional round of strikes against Iran on July 8 to further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; per Visegrad24, 90 military targets were hit overnight, including air defenses, coastal surveillance, missile and drone storage, and naval facilities.source
- A U.S. official told N12 that Wednesday's cruise missile strikes targeted two railway bridges in northern Iran — the first U.S. attack on Iranian infrastructure since the April 8 ceasefire. The Aq Tekeh Khan Bridge on the Incheh Borun–Turkmenistan railway near Aq Qala, a key trade link, was among those attacked.source
- Babak Taghvaee reports the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes in northern Iran overnight, with eyewitnesses in Golestan Province describing powerful explosions and flashes around Aqqala at about 02:00 local time — while per WarMonitor, Bahrain reportedly struck Iran alongside U.S. forces the same night.source
Who Controls Hormuz — CENTCOM Rebuts Tehran's Claim to the Strait
Gulf & Naval- After Iranian state media claimed transit through the Strait of Hormuz is only permitted through routes designated by Iran, CENTCOM issued a blunt rebuttal: 'Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz' — noting U.S. forces have helped facilitate successful transits since early May.source
'If You Strike, You'll Get Hit' — Ghalibaf's Defiance and Trump's Dilemma
- Parliament speaker Ghalibaf declared America 'still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free,' warning 'if you strike, you'll get hit' and insisting the Strait of Hormuz will only reopen on Iran's terms.source
- Reuters, cited by Iran International, reports the latest round of reciprocal U.S.-Iranian attacks has confronted Trump's effort to end the war with a new challenge — analysts say the president is now caught between competing risks as escalation outruns diplomacy.source