The United States military launched a significant offensive against Iran early Sunday morning, targeting approximately 140 locations in response to an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Central Command confirmed the strikes were larger than the previous two rounds of military action, focusing on missile and drone launch sites, communication equipment, and ammunition depots. According to the U.S. military, the operation aimed to degrade Iran’s capacity to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the strait. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commented on the situation online, stating that Iran had made a poor choice and would now face the consequences.
The escalation follows an incident where a Cyprus-flagged container ship was struck by Iran while navigating a route intended to avoid the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters. The vessel suffered significant damage to its engine room and caught fire, forcing the crew to abandon ship. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported that one civilian crew member remains missing. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed the vessels ignored warnings to correct their course, leading to the use of a warning shot to force one ship to stop.
In the wake of the U.S. strikes, Iranian authorities allegedly retaliated by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Qatar’s military reported intercepting incoming fire, with the nation’s Interior Ministry noting that three people, including a child, were wounded by falling shrapnel. Missile alerts were triggered across several Gulf nations, and the Omani state news agency reported drone strikes in the northeastern region near the strait. Kuwait also confirmed it was intercepting incoming fire, while Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, experienced multiple missile alerts throughout Sunday.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical flashpoint in the ongoing conflict that began on February 28. Prior to the war, the waterway facilitated the transit of approximately one-fifth of global oil and natural gas. Iran has insisted that it maintains sole control over the strait and has declared it closed until further notice, threatening to target additional bases in the region if it faces further attacks. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, responded. Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public statement since his father’s funeral, vowed that Iran would avenge the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which occurred during the war’s opening strikes on February 28. Such revenge “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement carried on state television.
State media in Iran reported that U.S. strikes impacted various parts of the country, including military installations near Tehran and southern provinces bordering the Strait of Hormuz. These developments follow a series of strikes last week that resulted in at least 17 deaths and 115 injuries, as reported by Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour. While Oman and Iran have agreed to continue discussions regarding the strait, no resolution has been reached regarding the U.S.-backed demand for the waterway to remain open to all international traffic.
Pro-government demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man holds a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a gathering commemorating him at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
