The United States and Iran have been attacking each other for six straight nights as of July 17, 2026. US planes have bombed Iranian ports, roads, and bridges. Iran has fired back at countries nearby and at cargo ships in a narrow waterway called the Strait of Hormuz. Neither side seems able to stop The Guardian.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman. About one-fifth of all the oil in the world passes through it. Think of it like a toll booth on a highway: whoever controls it can slow down or block the traffic.

The latest US strikes on July 17 hit two Iranian cities, Chabahar and Bandar Abbas. A tower collapsed, and highways and bridges were damaged. At least seven people were killed in airstrikes on bridges in Iran's southern Hormozgan province overnight into Friday AP News. The US military said the strikes targeted Iranian command centers and air defense sites DNA India. The July 17 wave also hit a facility that turns seawater into drinking water and an airport inside Iran AP News; Reuters.

Iran's response went beyond US forces. Iran attacked Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. One strike hit a plant in Kuwait that turns seawater into drinking water. That matters a lot because about 90% of Kuwait's water comes from that process The Guardian.

Before these six nights of fighting, the US and Israel had carried out a 38-day bombing campaign in the spring. They said they had destroyed Iran's military. President Trump told Fox News that Iran's weapons were "down 91%." But leaked US intelligence reports and the scale of Iran's attacks since then tell a different story The Guardian.

Those intelligence reports, leaked to the Washington Post and reported by The Guardian on May 9, 2026, said Iran had regained access to 30 out of 33 missile launch sites along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran still had about 70% of its missiles and launchers from before the war. The same report said Iran could keep up a standoff at the Strait for three to four months before running into serious trouble The Guardian. The US military announced three waves of strikes against Iran starting on July 7 CFR.

Iran has shown it can still strike. On July 13, two oil tankers, which are large ships that carry oil, were hit by missiles near Oman. One sailor was killed and eight were wounded. A third tanker was hit in the Gulf of Oman. Another tanker was struck on July 17, with no casualties reported. By July 16, only three ships per day were passing through the Strait, the fewest since May. Oil prices rose from $75.50 to $82 per barrel The Guardian.

Iran has demanded that all ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz travel close to its coast. Iran said US strikes could not break its control of the waterway Reuters. Iran also claimed it had targeted 85 US military facilities in retaliation for US attacks on Hormozgan province and the port city of Bandar-e Mahshahr Al Jazeera.

The US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports on July 14 CNN. A naval blockade means warships stop other ships from entering or leaving a country's ports. The USS Boxer and its 2,200 marines are enforcing it in the Gulf of Oman. More US strikes have hit the port cities of Jask, Sirik, and Bandar-e Mahshahr, the city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran, and Abu Musa Island, an Iranian-held island in the Persian Gulf Caspian News; India Today; DNA India; Al Jazeera. India has invested in developing Chabahar port, so New Delhi has a direct interest in whether the facility still works ThePrint.

Iran's foreign ministry said the latest US attacks made recent diplomatic efforts "futile" CBS News. At the July NATO summit, President Trump called Iran's leaders "scum" and "sick people." Military escalation was discussed at a White House Situation Room meeting on July 14 The Guardian.

The gap between what the US government says and what is actually happening on the ground is getting wider. The administration says Iran's military is 91% destroyed or totally wiped out. But US intelligence warned months ago that Iran was resilient, and six nights of Iranian strikes reaching across the Gulf back that up. Michael Carpenter, a former national security official now at the IISS, said the White House had "no clear or well thought-through strategy for how to get out of this" The Guardian.

The broader picture is that this conflict may get worse before it gets better. The May intelligence report said Iran could keep up the fight for three to four months from late spring. That time is running out now. If the estimate is right, the pressure on both sides will intensify rather than ease in the weeks ahead. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly stopped, Gulf state water and power plants are being targeted, and a naval blockade is back in place. This conflict has moved past the phase of quick escalations into a long grind, with no negotiations in sight to bring it to an end.