The U.S. attacked Iran early Sunday (July 12, 2026) morning over an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz that set the container ship ablaze and forced its crew to abandon it.
Iran responded with attacks targeting several countries in the Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
The outburst of fighting raised new questions about efforts to reach a permanent end to a war that began on Feb 28.
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U.S. strikes Iran in response to maritime attacks, escalating tensions in the Gulf and jeopardizing ongoing peace negotiations.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday (July 12) the United States hit Iran hard in response to its latest attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We hit them very hard last night,” Mr. Trump told CNN by telephone in an interview centering mainly on the death of Senator Lindsey Graham.
Mr. Trump said the United States and Iran had been close to “a deal” on Saturday. “They were giving up everything, and then all of a sudden two hours after that they hit a ship with a drone. These people, there is something wrong with them,” he said.
-AFP
The U.S. military insisted on Sunday (July 12, 2026) that ships are moving through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran’s claim to have closed it in the latest flare-up of the war in West Asia.
“Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing,” United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees U.S. forces in West Asia, said on X.
In a later post, CENTCOM directly mentioned and challenged an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps statement that the vital conduit for global oil flow was closing.
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U.S. military confirms traffic continues in Strait of Hormuz, asserting it remains an international waterway despite Iran’s claims.
Iran said on Sunday (July 12) it was closing the Strait of Hormuz and launched missiles and drones at Gulf neighbours after the U.S. carried out a new round of strikes as their conflict escalated.
The latest exchange of fire was sparked by another Iranian attack on a commercial ship in the strait, whose crew were forced to abandon the vessel after it went up in flames.
The escalation is the latest to undermine an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their war, which broke out in late February with U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
-AFP
The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels and U.S. military forces are “positioned and prepared” to ensure freedom of navigation, U.S. Central Command said on Sunday (July 12), a day after U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire and Iran said it had closed the vital waterway.
Oman said on Sunday (July 12) it had rescued 23 crew members from a commercial ship while one was missing after the vessel was struck off the Gulf sultanate’s eastern coast.
“Twenty-three crew members were rescued and provided with necessary medical care. Search operations are continuing for one crew member who remains missing,” Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said in a statement.
The agency said it had received a distress call from the Cypriot-flagged GFS Galaxy 4.4 nautical miles off the coast of Musandam Governorate.
-AFP
Oman on Sunday (July 12) issued a formal protest to the Iranian ambassador following an attack on the country, state media reported, in a rare instance of it publicly accusing Tehran of targeting its territory.
“Oman expresses its profound dismay at these irresponsible acts, and underscores the imperative of adhering to the provisions of state sovereignty, good neighbourliness, non-interference in internal affairs,” the state news agency said in a post on social media, just a day after Oman hosted the Iranian Foreign Minister for talks on the Strait of Hormuz.
-AFP
Iraq’s Prime Minister will visit Washington on Monday (July 13) to deepen strategic ties with the United States, with oil and gas deals expected to be signed as part of a broader push for economic, trade and investment cooperation.
“The agreements to be signed will include several memorandums of understanding in the oil and gas sector as Iraq prepares to bring in various U.S. companies that will provide momentum to increase oil production capacity,” government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said.
Iraq’s state news agency, citing Mr. al-Aboudi, said the planned oil and gas agreements would also seek to create alternative export outlets to reduce Iraq’s exposure to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
-Reuters
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released visuals of strikes conducted against U.S. forces. Watch below:
Overnight U.S. strikes on Iran killed one soldier, Iranian media reported Sunday after fighting resumed between the foes.
“Lieutenant Hamidreza Dehghani, of the navy of the Islamic republic’s armed forces, was martyred during the criminal, terrorist attack last night by the United States on the port of Jask” in southern Iran, the Mehr and Tasnim news agencies said, citing a local official.
- AFP
Qatar on Sunday (July 12, 2026) condemned Iranian attacks against its territory and its neighbours, after the Islamic republic launched salvos against Arab countries.
“Qatar condemns in the strongest possible terms the renewed attacks carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, also referring to the targeting of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait and calling the barrages a “dangerous escalation”.
- AFP
An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was more important than “dozens of atomic bombs”, vowing to protect the vital waterway.
“This strategic passage is more important than dozens of atomic bombs, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will protect it,” Mohsen Rezaee was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to create an atomic bomb, but Tehran has insisted its nuclear programme is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
-AFP
A conservative newspaper in Iran known for its provocative tone has published a list of people to be targeted as revenge for the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, including the leaders of the U.S., Israel and European countries.
U.S.-Israeli strikes killed the late ayatollah on February 28, the first day of the Middle East war, and his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed revenge.
“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” Mr. Mojtaba said on Saturday in his first message since his father’s funeral this week.
“These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds.”
The Hamshahri newspaper, which is published by authorities in the Iranian capital, released an infographic online late Saturday (July 11, 2026) featuring photos of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mr. Mojtaba’s statement.
- AFP
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar urged the U.S. and Iran to show restraint following the escalation of conflict in West Asia.
Mr. Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, held a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi and expressed concerns, according to a statement by the Foreign Office in Islamabad. “Both leaders exchanged views on the evolving regional situation. DPM/FM stressed upon the parties to follow the path of de-escalation and show restraint, as agreed in the Islamabad MOU in June 2026,” it said.
- PTI
The Omani government lambasted on Sunday an attack on its territory, state media announced, with Iran’s Guards saying they targeted it during a barrage aimed at countries across the Gulf.
The Oman News Agency said on X that “the Sultanate of Oman affirms its condemnation and denunciation of this attack”, which came just hours after the country hosted Iran’s Foreign Minister to address security issues in the Strait of Hormuz.
- AFP
The Omani state news agency said drones struck sites in northeastern Oman in the region that sits on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran had previously claimed attacks on Oman, which the sultanate did not acknowledge.
- AP
The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack on the commercial vessel GFS Galaxy off the coast of Oman. Of the 11 Indian nationals on board, 10 have been rescued while one remains missing.
The Indian Embassy in Oman is coordinating with Omani authorities on search and rescue efforts. India also called for immediate de-escalation, an end to attacks on commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure, and the restoration of safe navigation through international waterways.
Jordanian army says three missiles launched from Iran fell in the country, no casualties reported.
-Reuters
Oman and Iran have agreed to continue discussions to reach common understanding regarding ensuring security of shipping in Hormuz, said Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson.
-Reuters
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have expressed concern over escalation in conflict in West Asia and said that the recent clashes between the U.S. and Iran threaten regional peace and stability. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a telephone conversation on Saturday (July 11, 2026) a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate talks with the leaders of Iran and Qatar in an effort to revive the stalled U.S.-Iran negotiations.
The talks were being held as efforts picked up pace to mend the broken peace bridge between the warring sides after the recent escalation and attacks on the rival targets, officials said.
Kuwait’s military on said its air defence forces were working to intercept an ongoing attack on its territory, as countries across the Gulf were targeted by drones and missiles.
“The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosion sounds heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile attacks,” the military said in a statement posted on social media.
-Reuters
U.S. forces completed a third round of strikes this week against Iran, hitting approximately 140 Iranian military targets, the Central Command said late on Saturday in a post on X.
Targets included Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations, the Central Command added.
-Reuters
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday it struck and disabled a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted the U.S. strategic air base at Al Udeid in Qatar with ballistic missiles, destroying its fighter jet maintenance centre and command and control facility.
-Reuters
The United Arab Emirates warned the public of an incoming missile and drone attack as explosions could be heard in nearby Qatar.
It wasn’t immediately clear where was under attack in the UAE, which so far hadn’t been targeted in the latest round of attacks by Iran.
An Associated Press journalist heard the blasts in nearby Qatar on Sunday morning. There was no immediate information about what caused them.
The United States launched two rounds of airstrikes last week over Iran, targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz
-AP
The crew of a ship damaged off the coast of Oman had abandoned the vessel, British maritime agency UKMTO reported Sunday, an attack the United States blamed on Iran.
“UKMTO has been informed by military authorities and the CSO of the vessel that the crew have abandoned the vessel and are currently embarked in a lifeboat,” it said of the incident that took place around 17 kilometres (10 miles) east of Oman.
Iran had said earlier it struck and stopped a ship in the Strait of Hormuz for ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved route.
-AFP
A U.S. military delegation met with Lebanon’s army in Beirut to discuss the implementation of Israel’s withdrawal from a “pilot zone” in occupied territory, a Lebanese military official told AFP.
Under a framework agreement reached on June 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has deployed troops to fight Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia movement.
As part of the agreement, the long-disempowered Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.
“The American military delegation arrived and began meetings with the Lebanese army command to discuss the mechanisms for implementing the first pilot zone from which the Israelis will withdraw, allowing the Lebanese army to deploy,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“This is the main objective the American military delegation is bringing to Lebanon... it is the translation and implementation of the framework agreement.”
-AFP
Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday “until further notice” after firing on a vessel it said was taking an unauthorised route, prompting U.S. retaliatory strikes that further undermine an already shaky ceasefire.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they struck and stopped a vessel ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved shipping corridor, according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.
U.S. military strikes Iran in retaliation for attacks on civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions.
Iran’s state media says the current situation in Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Jask reported to be calm
-Reuters
Published - July 12, 2026 07:05 am IST