The US military launched its 10th round of strikes on Iran on July 20, 2026. The Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula — remained closed to commercial shipping, and oil markets were reeling from weeks of fighting between the two countries (AP News). The goal of the strikes was to force the strait back open. About one-fifth of all oil traded worldwide normally passes through it (The Guardian).

The latest exchange came after Iran attacked a cargo ship in the strait on or around July 20, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel (AP News). Nearly 100 US military personnel have been injured since early July. On July 18, at least two American service members were killed by an Iranian attack, which prompted the US to resume strikes the same day (Reuters). A US strike on July 18 hit Hormozgan province in southern Iran, right next to the strait (AP News).

The fighting in its current form started on July 8, when a temporary peace deal between Washington and Tehran fell apart. That same day, Iran attacked several commercial ships in the strait, including two massive oil tankers, and hit US military sites in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan (Al Jazeera). Three days later, on July 11, Iran officially declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. The US said it struck hundreds of Iranian targets that day (Reuters).

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful military force that operates separately from Iran's regular army, stated on July 15 that the strait would stay closed until the United States stops its "acts of aggression" (Al Arabiya). Iran had earlier warned that the Strait of Hormuz is a "red line," responding to threats of further US military action and President Trump's proposed 20% fee on ships passing through the waterway (CNBC). On July 14, Trump said Gulf investment deals would replace the proposed shipping fee, shifting the economic side of the crisis in a new direction (Reuters).

The US military operation, called "Operation Epic Fury," has escalated step by step since mid-July. On July 13, US Central Command completed a wave of strikes hitting dozens of targets, and Trump announced the US was "reinstating" a blockade on Iran — meaning US forces would stop ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports (AP News). By July 15, the military had reimposed the blockade on Iranian ports and expanded strikes to targets in northern Iran (AP News). The July 14 strikes marked the fourth consecutive night of US attacks (Reuters).

This crisis goes back further. In June 2025, the Trump administration struck Iranian nuclear facilities, starting the cycle of armed confrontation (White House). In February 2026, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency regarding Iran and setting up a process to impose tariffs — essentially taxes on trade — on countries doing business with Tehran (White House). By March, the White House described Iran's blockade of the strait as an "oil shock" (White House).

A brief period of calm seemed possible in April 2026, when Iran agreed to a ceasefire — a formal halt in fighting — and to reopen the strait while the Trump administration negotiated a broader peace deal (White House). In May, Trump reached agreements with China in which both leaders agreed Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and called for the strait to reopen (White House). That diplomatic effort has since collapsed entirely.

The IRGC's demand that the US stop striking before the strait reopens, combined with the US goal of forcing the strait open through military pressure, has created a circular standoff: each side says it is only responding to the other's aggression. The temporary truce that broke down on July 8 was the last peace agreement both sides formally accepted. Nothing has replaced it.

The conflict has also spread beyond the waters around Iran. Iran's attacks on US military sites in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan extend the fighting across the Arabian Peninsula. US strikes have reached from southern Iran to the north. Commercial ships are now direct targets, not accidental casualties: Iran has hit oil tankers and other vessels, forcing crews to flee.

The broader context here is that a fragile system of deterrence — the idea that the threat of retaliation keeps both sides from escalating — held from the April ceasefire through early July, but has now fallen apart. The April agreement and the May deals with China suggested the two sides were moving toward a managed standoff rather than open war. The July 8 collapse of the truce, followed by ten rounds of US strikes and Iran's continued attacks on shipping and US positions, suggests that neither Washington nor Tehran sees a clear way out. The IRGC's public vow to keep the strait closed and the Pentagon's steady pace of strikes suggest both sides are settling in for a long fight rather than working toward a negotiated peace.