Ship fire jolts Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran attacks widen

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 06:04 IST

A ship caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz near Oman’s coastline, the British military said, as the waterway remained under strain from the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran.

The blaze was reported as the US and Iran exchanged fresh attacks, with Washington launching a new round of airstrikes and Tehran firing missiles and drones towards US-allied countries in the region. The fighting has entered its second week, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled, and both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure used by millions of people.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre issued a warning about the fire and said it was not clear what caused it. The US military has been encouraging ships to use a route near Oman to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded with attacks on those vessels, saying it must have control over the key waterway through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

The United States began a new round of airstrikes early Monday after announcing the death of another American service member. Iran, in turn, fired missiles towards Jordan, raising the risk of the conflict spreading further into neighbouring Israel. Last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has fallen apart, bringing the US and Iran closer to a wider war.

The US military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. Earlier, it had said its strikes targeted Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in response to Friday’s killing of troops in Jordan. One service member was missing after that attack, and the military later said “unidentified remains” were found on Sunday and were being examined. Since the war began, 17 US service members have been killed.

The renewed exchanges of fire have seen the US target bridges and electrical facilities in Iran. The US military’s Central Command said the latest strikes marked the ninth straight night of attacks. “The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” Central Command said in a statement.

Footage released on Sunday by the US military appeared to show strikes by fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the sea. One of the target sites appeared to be in a valley in a mountainous area, where the Revolutionary Guard often keeps missile bases and other military equipment. Iran’s atomic energy agency said US strikes had hit the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the southwest, according to state television. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC showed earth clearing but little construction at the Darkhovin nuclear plant site as of July 9. The Atomic Energy Agency said the site, which was in the “very early stages of construction”, had no nuclear material when UN inspectors last visited.

Iran has also struck US-allied countries across the Middle East. Jordan’s military said it shot down several Iranian missiles and that there were no casualties or damage. Jordan later summoned Iran’s charg d’affaires in protest, state-run television reported. Israel’s military said missiles fired towards the Jordanian port city of Aqaba could spill over, and warned Israelis to expect the first air-raid sirens in weeks. In Eilat, across the border from Aqaba, officials said two interceptors were launched from the city’s outskirts to prevent debris from falling.

During the latest fighting, Iran has focused its attacks on US-allied Arab states rather than Israel, which launched the war with the US on February 28. “We are prepared to immediately resume combat,” Israeli military chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said. Kuwait said one of its power and water desalination plants had been attacked for the second time in two days, causing fires, though its Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the power grid remained stable. The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, accused Iran of war crimes over strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.

With a ship on fire in the Strait of Hormuz, fresh US strikes in Iran, and Iranian attacks spreading across the region, the conflict showed no sign of easing on Monday. The latest exchanges have further disrupted shipping, widened the regional fallout, and added to concerns over attacks on civilian infrastructure.

With PTI Inputs

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