Washington, July 13, 2026 – The US military said it had completed overnight strikes on targets in Iran after several hours of attacks that hit dozens of sites with precision munitions.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that the operation had destroyed air defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats in an effort to make it harder for Iran to carry out further attacks on international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes marked the fourth wave of US attacks since hostilities resumed overnight into Wednesday. CENTCOM said the latest operation involved fighter jets, naval vessels, unmanned aircraft and, for the first time, maritime drones.
The US military released video footage showing fighter jets taking off from an aircraft carrier and cruise missiles being launched from one or more warships. The footage also appeared to show several strikes hitting their targets.
The military’s claims could not be independently verified.
CENTCOM said the Strait of Hormuz was vital to global trade and was not controlled by Iran. US forces were prepared to “ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations.”
UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed concern over what he called a “serious escalation” following the latest strikes. A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for regional security and the global economy, he said on X.
“I urge Iran & the US to urgently resume negotiations & to address outstanding issues through diplomacy.”
The United States struck Iran Monday for a second day running, drawing Tehran’s reprisals against US allies in the Gulf as the foes battle over the status of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
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 and further battered an interim peace deal.
Iran responded to the latest US attacks by targeting Gulf nations, with the powerful Revolutionary Guards announcing new strikes on Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, according to state media reports.
The US Central Command (CENTCOMM) said its forces had completed their latest barrage, which began overnight Sunday, on dozens of Iranian targets.
US 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 percent when futures trading opened Monday in Asia, with the US 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 US attacks on Sunday 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 US 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 US military targets and bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, state media reported on Monday
