Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, after the US and Israel struck Iranian military targets. Tanker traffic through this passageway — which normally carries about a fifth of the world's daily oil supply — has dropped to a two-month low. Global oil prices are surging as of mid-July 2026.

Think of the Strait of Hormuz as a toll booth on the world's most important oil highway. When it shuts down, countries that buy oil from the Gulf have fewer ways to get it, and prices go up fast.

The US military command for the Middle East, known as CENTCOM, has carried out several rounds of strikes against Iranian military targets since early July. The strikes hit command centres, air defence sites, and coastal surveillance facilities across Iran, including in Bandar Abbas and Greater Tunb Island. An overnight operation on July 14 lasted five hours. Earlier rounds struck over 80 targets on July 7, about 90 targets on July 7-8, and roughly 140 targets in a later wave. Locations hit include Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and southern Iranian coastal sites. CENTCOM used precision weapons — bombs and missiles designed to hit specific targets — fired from fighter jets, drones, and cruise missiles.

Iranian state media reported explosions across the country and air defences activated in the capital, Tehran. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said a children's cancer treatment centre in Ahvaz was evacuated after strikes on a nearby location.

Iran has struck back across the region. The Iranian military said it targeted US communication systems and fuel storage facilities in Jordan. Iran also said it carried out drone attacks on US military bases in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain. US forces shot down four Iranian drones. Kuwait's military intercepted drone attacks, and Bahrain's interior ministry told citizens to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place. Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on July 13 strongly condemning Iran's repeated attacks on Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards — a powerful military force that reports directly to Iran's supreme leader — said their navy stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz by shutting down their systems. The Guards also warned the US to "expect the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of the United States and its allies." The Iranian military declared the strait an "unbreakable red line." Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told Iranian state media that Tehran had "no reason" to follow any agreement that did not benefit Iran, and stated Iran's national security depended on maintaining "Iranian arrangements" in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US has also resumed a blockade on Iranian ports. A blockade means using warships to stop other ships from entering or leaving a country's ports — a way of squeezing a country's economy. This blockade had been lifted in June as part of a short-lived deal. US forces fired on and disabled an empty oil tanker flying the flag of Curacao that CENTCOM said was trying to sail toward a blockaded Iranian port. This is a sharp contrast to CENTCOM's June 20 report that commercial vessels were flowing through an open Strait of Hormuz with ship traffic increasing.

Russia's Foreign Minister said US attacks on Iran violated the recently signed deal. Iran sent a letter to the UN Security Council on July 7 complaining about repeated US strikes on Iranian territory. Iran has also warned the United States it would target remaining regional infrastructure.

Donald Trump threatened to target Iran's energy infrastructure if Tehran failed to return to talks. In a separate development, Trump welcomed Iran's release of American detainee Dena Karari, whom Trump said was "wrongfully detained" in December 2024. Her attorney, Jared Genser, posted on X that she was on her way back to the US. Trump posted his reaction on his Truth Social platform.

The broader context here is that the diplomatic agreement from June — which briefly opened the strait and lifted the port blockade — has fallen apart under sustained military action from both sides. With CENTCOM carrying out strike waves of growing scale and Iran simultaneously attacking US facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, the conflict has expanded well beyond a dispute between two countries into a regional confrontation involving multiple Gulf states.

A few things are worth watching. The Revolutionary Guards' threat to close additional oil and gas routes suggests Iran sees economic disruption as its main source of pressure, not simply defending its territory. The involvement of Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan as targets or affected parties pulls in countries that have historically tried to stay out of US-Iran confrontations. Qatar's condemnation of Iran's attacks signals that even Doha, which has often acted as a go-between with Tehran, is finding Iran's retaliation too broad to accept. The release of Dena Karari alongside the military escalation sends a mixed signal: a narrow humanitarian channel still working even as military and economic pressure is in full swing.

What is still unclear is whether the diplomatic path Trump has demanded can restart while the blockade stays in place, Hormuz remains closed, and both sides keep striking. Ghalibaf's words leave the door nominally open to a deal, but his condition that any agreement must clearly benefit Iran sets a bar that is hard to define, let alone meet, under current conditions.