APTOPIX Iraq Khamenei Funeral

The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried through a crowd of mourners at the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, early Thursday, July 9, 2026.

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US and Iran exchange intensifying fire across the Mideast, threatening the interim deal to end war

US and Iran exchange intensifying fire across the Mideast, threatening the interim deal to end war

The United States has launched new airstrikes against Iran, and Tehran responded by targeting Gulf countries. The exchange of fire threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Middle East. Back-and-forth attacks have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursday’s appeared bigger all around. Sirens sounded at least three times in Bahrain. Missiles targeted Kuwait and Qatar. The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of a fragile ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn’t stop. That raised concerns that the region could tip back into a war.