U.S. hits Iran as Gulf states targeted in flare-up over Hormuz
The United States struck Iran Monday (July 13, 2026) for a second day running, drawing Tehran's reprisals against U.S. allies in the Gulf as the
The United States struck Iran Monday (July 13, 2026) for a second day running, drawing Tehran's reprisals against U.S. allies in the Gulf as the foes battle over the status of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Also Read: West Asia war updates on July 13 The fresh fighting and Iran's announcement over the weekend of a new closure of Hormuz — a key conduit in the world's oil trade — sent crude prices climbing on Monday (July 13) and further battered an interim peace deal. Iran responded to the latest U.S. attacks by targeting Gulf nations, with the powerful Revolutionary Guards announcing new strikes on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, according to state media reports. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had completed their latest barrage, which began overnight Sunday (July 12), on dozens of Iranian targets. U.S. aircraft, naval vessels and drones had "completed a new wave of offensive strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz." The past week's hostilities have centred over competing claims over the critical energy trade route, which Iran's Guards say is now "closed" while the United States maintains the strait is open to maritime traffic and is not controlled by Iran.
Oil prices, which tumbled after the announcement of the June agreement, jumped 4.5% when futures trading opened on Monday (July 13) in Asia, with the U.S. benchmark WTI jumping above $74 a barrel on fears of hampered supply on global markets. Mediators have been trying to salvage a diplomatic solution to ending the war after President Donald Trump this week declared a ceasefire over. Pakistan, a key intermediary in negotiations between the rival countries, expressed "deep concern at escalation in regional tensions", according to its foreign office. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. attacks on Sunday (July 12) had "caused the return of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz" and "have rendered futile all efforts" at establishing peace in the region. Iranian state media reported two deaths in U.S. strikes that it said targeted large areas across southern and western Iran, including Qeshm island and Bandar Abbas near the Strait of Hormuz, and in Khuzestan province bordering Iraq. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had struck U.S. military targets and bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, state media reported on Monday (July 13). Air raid alerts sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said, while Kuwait's army said the country's forces were intercepting "hostile aerial targets" on Monday (July 13).
The BriefWire