Washington, July 2026 : The United States carried out another round of military strikes against Iranian targets on Thursday evening, marking the 13th consecutive night of operations amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Gulf region. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes were aimed at countering threats posed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to international maritime security.
According to CENTCOM, the attacks began at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time and were designed to “hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping.” The latest military action forms part of an ongoing campaign that has intensified since Washington resumed a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime activities earlier this month.
In a separate statement posted on X, CENTCOM said US naval forces had redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one ship over the past nine days to prevent traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
“Since resuming the naval blockade against Iran, CENTCOM has redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one vessel to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas,” the command said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had intercepted three oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest and most strategically important shipping routes.
According to Iranian state media, the IRGC alleged that the vessels were attempting to navigate through a route that had been mined. One tanker reportedly exploded and caught fire, prompting the other two ships to reverse course.
“Three oil tankers, encouraged by the American military, attempted to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz. After one of them exploded and caught fire, the remaining two turned back,” the IRGC claimed in its statement.
The Iranian force also warned that any vessel attempting to transit the area without Tehran’s approval would face similar consequences, signalling the possibility of further confrontation in the strategically vital waterway through which a significant share of the world’s oil supplies passes.
The latest exchange follows another night of US strikes on Wednesday, when American forces targeted multiple locations across Iran for the 12th straight day. Iranian media reported missile strikes near Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran, as well as a power station close to the Bushehr nuclear facility in southern Iran. Reports also claimed that two people were killed in Shalamcheh, near the Iraqi border.
Adding to concerns over a wider military escalation, US President Donald Trump indicated on Thursday that his administration was considering expanding military operations against Iran. Speaking to the online news outlet Axios, Trump said he was weighing the possibility of launching a larger campaign that could surpass Operation Epic Fury, the military operation initiated on February 28.
With military activity intensifying on both sides and the Strait of Hormuz remaining a potential flashpoint, international observers continue to monitor developments closely amid fears of further disruption to regional stability, global energy supplies and international shipping.
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
