The US military launched what it called a "heavy wave of strikes against Iran" early on July 30, 2026, hitting dozens of facilities belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC — Iran's most powerful military force, which reports directly to the country's supreme leader. The strikes hit Iran's southern provinces along the Gulf coast and the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel between Iran and Oman through which about a fifth of the world's oil travels. The attacks ended a days-long pause in bombing that had briefly raised hopes for diplomacy Al Jazeera.

The strikes came hours after President Donald Trump pledged to hit Iran "very hard" following an Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Jordan where American troops are stationed. US Central Command (CENTCOM) — the military command responsible for the Middle East — said the latest strikes hit military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities. The command said the operation was intended to "further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf nations" CENTCOM. Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, confirmed that the strikes were concentrated in southern provinces along the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz Al Jazeera.

Iranian officials described widespread but uneven damage. A residential building on Qeshm Island was struck, leaving three people trapped under rubble and two injured in hospital. A deputy security minister in Khuzestan province told state broadcaster IRIB that US forces targeted "some locations in Abadan." The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported strikes near Kazerun in Fars province and two loud explosions on Kish Island. Other reporting indicates the strikes damaged 18 water facilities in a southern province Iran International.

To understand how we got here, it helps to look at the timeline. On July 24, the US held back from bombing Iran for the first night in two weeks, ending a streak of at least 13 consecutive nights of strikes Reuters. By July 26, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would stop its own attacks as long as the US kept its pause going Reuters. The next day, Trump said the US and Iran were having "good talks," and Iran confirmed it would hold fire as long as Trump's ceasefire held Reuters. During this period, Iran also rejected a proposal from Oman — a country that often acts as a mediator between the US and Iran — to jointly manage shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.

That pause fell apart when Iran fired missiles at the US base in Jordan, prompting Trump's promise to respond forcefully and the July 30 strikes. This has happened before in the campaign. CENTCOM carried out major strikes on July 7 (over 80 targets), July 7–8 (about 90 targets), and nightly strikes through at least July 23 CENTCOM. Qeshm Island has been hit repeatedly, including on June 3 and around July 12 Israel Hayom. During the July 12 incident, a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a warning shot and forced to stop Anchorage Daily News.

The money side of this conflict matters too. Sanctions are government-imposed penalties that freeze a target's assets and block them from doing business internationally. On July 29, the US Treasury Department sanctioned two Iranian firms it says are part of an IRGC-backed scheme that forces commercial ships to buy insurance to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would not allow Iran to "hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC's terrorism, aggression, and repression" Al Jazeera. This approach has run alongside the military campaign: the State Department announced sanctions on July 10 targeting regime financiers and shadow banking networks, and on July 14 aimed at dismantling an illicit shipping empire linked to Shamkhani State Department.

Former Pentagon official David Des Roches told Al Jazeera the July 30 strikes were "not a very overwhelming attack" and suggested Trump may be trying to keep things proportionate or leave room for diplomacy Al Jazeera. CENTCOM's own July 29 press release described the strikes as responses to "attempted Iranian attacks," wording that leaves it unclear whether Iran's actions matched the intensity of earlier barrages CENTCOM.

At home, the White House has pushed back against Congress trying to limit the operation. The administration published official statements opposing two pieces of legislation — S.J. Res. 180 (July 23) and H. Con. Res. 89 (July 24) — that would have directed the removal of US forces from hostilities against Iran White House. The White House has described the overall campaign as "maximum pressure," with a July 28 release titled "America's Unrelenting Strength Keeps Maximum Pressure on Iran" White House.

The bigger picture is a cycle of retaliation that neither country has shown it can stop. The shift from ceasefire to renewed bombing in just 72 hours raises the question of whether the pause was a real attempt at peace or simply a break to regroup. Iran's rejection of Oman's proposal to co-manage the Strait of Hormuz suggests both sides see control of that waterway — carrying about a fifth of the world's oil — as their main source of leverage. The US targeting of maritime capabilities, coastal surveillance, and water infrastructure suggests it is trying to weaken Iran's ability to control shipping through the strait. Meanwhile, Iran's continued missile strikes on US positions show it has not backed down. Each time the US has paused its bombing, Iran has escalated, which in turn triggers more US strikes — a back-and-forth pattern that neither side has shown the ability or willingness to break.