The United States has carried out a fresh round of military strikes against Iran after Iranian forces attacked a Cyprus-registered container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze and leaving a crew member missing. Tehran responded by declaring the strait closed to shipping and launching retaliatory missile and drone strikes against several US-allied Gulf nations, dramatically escalating a confrontation that is now threatening to collapse an interim peace agreement between the two countries.
What Happened: Ship Attack, US Strikes and Iranian Retaliation
The confrontation began when Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on the Cyprus-flagged container ship, which Iranian authorities said was travelling an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran described the strike as a "warning shot", but the US military said Tehran had "blatantly attacked" a civilian vessel. The crew abandoned ship and were reported on a lifeboat, with one crew member unaccounted for. The vessel was disabled by fire and significant damage to its engine room.
US forces responded with a substantial wave of strikes beginning in the early morning, the third such round within a week. The Pentagon said its forces hit 140 Iranian military targets out of more than 300 identified, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition storage facilities, communication equipment, and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard vessels. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a further round of strikes later in the day targeted missile and air defence systems as well as Guard patrol boats at multiple locations.
Explosions were reported across several Iranian sites, including the coastal city of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island near the strait, Hajiabad city, and areas including Sirik, Jask, and Khuzestan province near the Iraqi border. The governor of Qeshm Island confirmed projectiles had struck military targets with no reported casualties. Iranian media also reported a navy officer was killed in the broader exchange.
"We bombed the hell out of them last night," US President Donald Trump said, speaking publicly about the overnight campaign.
Iran then announced a second vessel had been struck in the strait for alleged regulatory violations, and said it had also targeted a US base in Qatar.
Gulf Nations Under Fire as Hormuz Crisis Deepens
Iran's retaliatory strikes extended well beyond its own waters. Missiles and drones were directed at Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Oman — all nations hosting US military forces or positioned as partners in managing regional shipping. Air raid sirens sounded across multiple Gulf capitals, with Qatar's military confirming it intercepted incoming Iranian fire. Explosions were also heard in the United Arab Emirates. Three people, including a child, were wounded by shrapnel from intercepted missiles in Qatar, according to that country's Interior Ministry.
Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed "until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region," with the IRGC warning it would consider striking additional enemy bases if further attacks occurred. The US military and President Trump flatly rejected the closure declaration, insisting the waterway remained open. A multinational naval body overseen by the US Navy reported traffic was continuing at reduced levels, noting that roughly 140 vessels had been transiting daily before the war began.
The strait is one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints, with approximately a fifth of all globally traded oil and liquefied natural gas passing through it. Iran's increasing grip on the waterway has already contributed to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have fallen sharply from wartime highs of USD $120 a barrel.
Peace Deal at Risk as UN Warns of Catastrophe
The escalating exchange is occurring at a particularly sensitive moment. Iran and the United States are roughly at the halfway point of a 60-day interim agreement designed to pave the way for a permanent end to the war that began on 28 February. The status of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a central sticking point, with Tehran insisting on the right to regulate — and potentially charge — vessels passing through it, while Washington demands unrestricted international navigation.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning, stating that "a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences."
Iran's parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signalled Tehran's hardening position in a public statement. "The era of one-sided deals is OVER," he wrote. "We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking."
The latest strikes mark the third round the US has conducted in the space of a single week, each triggered by Iranian attacks on commercial vessels attempting to use a shipping corridor off Oman that avoids Iranian territorial waters. With both sides exchanging blows and the ceasefire framework under severe strain, analysts and world leaders alike are watching closely to see whether the interim deal can survive the current escalation or whether the region is sliding toward a broader and far more destructive conflict.
