A man walks past a symbolic mock-up of an Iranian missile and an Iranian flag in Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, on July 12, 2026 | Photo credit: via Reuters
The US military said it launched another round of strikes against Iran “to degrade its ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.” The attacks, which took place overnight and early on Monday (July 13, 2026) in Iran, followed military strikes on Sunday morning in response to an Iranian attack on a container ship in the critical waterway the previous day.
Iran responded to those attacks by attacking Gulf Arab states in an escalating cycle of violence that left negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war on the brink of collapse.
The governor of Qeshm Island, near the strait, told Iran’s state news agency IRNA that projectiles were fired at military targets, causing no casualties. Explosions were also heard in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and the northern city of Hajiabad.
A U.S. official said some strikes were carried out against missile and air defense systems and against Revolutionary Guard paramilitary vessels in a couple of places to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss military operations.
Iran and the United States are almost halfway through 60 days of their interim agreement aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war. The Strait, a key route for global oil and natural gas supplies and long considered an international waterway, has become a sticking point in negotiations that appear in danger of collapsing.
“A return to large-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, according to a statement.
Stronger attacks
The United States attacks were more intense than in recent days. The United States launched three rounds of airstrikes against Iran last week over attacks on ships heading through the strait using a route off Oman, seeking to avoid the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters.
“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” President Donald Trump told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’
Semi-official Iranian news agencies reported that a naval officer was killed. Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region that host US military forces, while insisting that it alone should control the strait and potentially charge ships traveling through it.
Oman summons Iranian envoy to protest attack
Missile alerts sounded in several Arab Gulf countries. Qatar’s military said it intercepted incoming Iranian fire and explosions were heard in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. Three people, including a child, were injured by shrapnel while intercepting the attacks, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said.
Missile alerts sounded in Bahrain, headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said three “land border posts” in the north and an offshore drilling platform of the Kuwait Oil Company were damaged and one worker was injured.
Three Iranian missiles hit areas across Jordan, causing minor damage but no injuries, Jordan’s state news agency reported.
And Oman’s state news agency said drones struck sites in an area of the waterway, a day after Oman and Iran held talks over the strait and agreed to continue talks. The strait is located in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the attacks, the first such move since the war began, calling Iran’s actions “irresponsible.”
Published – July 13, 2026 05:30 am IST