{"id":1833,"date":"2026-07-13T13:24:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/07\/13\/us-resumes-strikes-on-iran-amid-latest-hormuz-escalation\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T13:24:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:24:31","slug":"us-resumes-strikes-on-iran-amid-latest-hormuz-escalation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=1833","title":{"rendered":"US resumes strikes on Iran amid latest Hormuz escalation"},"content":{"rendered":"

CENTCOM said the attacks were aimed at \u201cdegrading\u201d Tehran\u2019s ability to disrupt shipping, while the Islamic Republic condemned them as \u201cwar crimes\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The US has launched a fourth round of strikes against Iran this week in response to attacks on commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The move has put further strain on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) the two countries signed on June 17. Since then, both sides have accused each other of violating the accord.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 5 p.m. ET today, US Central Command forces began launching additional strikes against Iran to continue degrading its ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The Commander in Chief has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable,\u201d<\/em> CENTCOM said in a statement on X on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CENTCOM said several hours later that US forces had struck dozens of military targets, including air defense systems, radar sites, drone and missile facilities, and naval vessels.<\/p>\n

Iranian media reported explosions in the southern part of the country, including in the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Jask, as well as on Qeshm Island.\u00a0 Officials said at least eight towns were struck in Khuzestan, a coastal province bordering Iraq. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes as \u201cwar crimes,\u201d<\/em> according to the state outlet Press TV.<\/p>\n

In response, Iran launched missiles at Bahrain, triggering air raid sirens. Smoke was reportedly seen rising from the headquarters of the US Navy\u2019s Fifth Fleet and Isa Air Base.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udded Reports of heavy explosions in Bahrain<\/p>\n

Source: Middle East Spectator, @TabzLIVE<\/a> on TG \/ Writer: Oliver pic.twitter.com\/3mwRwX6ZTy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have \u201ccompletely destroyed\u201d<\/em> a Patriot air defense system at Ali Al Salem Air Base and a radar system at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait.<\/p>\n

The IRGC said on\u00a0Saturday\u00a0that it would keep the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed to all shipping until the US ends its \u201cillegal interventions\u201d<\/em> in the region.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Commercial
Iran declares Strait of Hormuz closed until US ends \u2018illegal\u2019 interventions<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Iran\u2019s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, denounced \u201cone-sided deals,\u201d<\/em> warning the US to \u201ckeep your word or pay the price.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

CENTCOM said US forces had struck more than 300 military targets over the previous three nights. On Sunday, Iran responded by launching missiles at five Gulf Arab states that host American bases.<\/p>\n

The US and Iran have clashed over the interpretation of the MoU\u2019s provisions regarding the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around a quarter of the world\u2019s seaborne oil and LNG trade.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, Iran pledged to use \u201cits best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge\u201d<\/em> for 60 days and negotiate with Oman over \u201cthe future administration and maritime services\u201d<\/em> in the strait. Iran has insisted that it has the right to regulate traffic and collect tolls, saying ships must pass through a designated route.<\/p>\n

The US, meanwhile, has demanded that Iran declare the strait fully open and has guided vessels along a route near the Omani coast, which the IRGC has denounced as \u201cillegal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CENTCOM said the attacks were aimed at \u201cdegrading\u201d Tehran\u2019s ability to disrupt shipping, while the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}