US strikes Iran after Hormuz ship attack as Gulf tensions spike

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 12, 2026 22:26 IST

The United States carried out strikes on Iran early Sunday after Tehran hit a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it on fire and leaving one crew member missing. Iran then launched attacks at countries in the region that host US forces, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman, sharply raising tensions around the strategic waterway and casting fresh doubt on the interim US-Iran deal aimed at ending the war.

The latest exchange has also deepened the stand-off over the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas supplies. A Cyprus-flagged container ship damaged in the Iranian strike had 23 crew members rescued by Oman, but India said the missing crew member is an Indian national and that it is working with Omani authorities to trace him.

Later on Sunday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted the governor of Qeshm island, near the strait, as saying fewer than a dozen projectiles were fired at military targets there and that there were no casualties. There was no immediate comment from the US military. Qeshm, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, has a population of about 150,000.

The US Central Command said it struck about 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition depots, communication equipment and other facilities. It said the attacks, heavier than those in recent days, were meant to weaken Iran's ability to threaten shipping. President Donald Trump told NBC's Meet the Press, "We bombed the hell out of them last night." Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that a navy officer was killed.

Iran responded by targeting countries in the region that host US military forces, while insisting that it alone must control the strait and could charge ships for travelling through it. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Speaker of Iran's parliament and a main negotiator, wrote, "The era of one-sided deals is OVER," and added, "We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking."

The US has now carried out three rounds of airstrikes on Iran in the past week, after Iranian attacks on ships using a route off Oman to avoid Iranian territorial waters. The US military and Trump said the strait remained open on Sunday. Iran said it was closed until calm is restored and warned that it could target "additional enemy bases in the region" if more attacks followed.

The US military said more than 140 ships had passed through the strait in the past week. A multinational body overseen by the US Navy said traffic was continuing "at reduced levels" off both Oman and Iran, adding that before the war, nearly 140 vessels crossed daily. Before the conflict, about a fifth of global traded oil and natural gas moved through the strait.

Missile alerts sounded across several Gulf countries. Qatar's military said it intercepted incoming Iranian fire, and explosions were heard in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates. Qatar's Interior Ministry said three people, including a child, were wounded by shrapnel from the interceptions. Alerts also sounded in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, while Kuwait's military said it was intercepting incoming fire. Jordan's state news agency reported that three Iranian missiles hit areas across the country, causing minor damage but no injuries. Sirens sounded in the UAE as well, though the government said the missiles did not enter its territory.

A day after Oman and Iran held talks on the strait, Oman's state news agency said drones struck sites in an area along the waterway. Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the attack, calling Iran's actions "irresponsible". On Saturday, Oman had said both sides had agreed to continue discussing the strait "at the technical and political levels". Iran did not say the passage would be open to all shipping, which is what the Trump administration has been seeking.

The damaged container ship suffered "significant engine room damage", according to the US Central Command. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, run by the British military, said the vessel had been sailing close to Oman's coastline. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said several vessels had "disregarded our warnings" and ignored instructions to follow what it described as an approved route, adding that one vessel "was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop". Iranian state media later reported US strikes in several parts of the country, including southern Iran near the strait and military sites in a province near Tehran.

The fighting came as the US and Iran neared the halfway mark of their 60-day interim agreement meant to find a permanent end to the war. Trump said last week that the deal was "over", but mediation efforts have continued through countries including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt. A regional official involved in the effort said attempts to strengthen the ceasefire continued on Sunday, while Pakistan said its foreign minister spoke to Iran's top diplomat and urged "de-escalation" on both sides.

Iran's new supreme leader, who has not been seen in public since the war began, issued his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Saturday. State television carried Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's statement saying that Iranians would avenge his father's killing in the opening strikes of the war on February 28. Such revenge, he said, "is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out." The latest strikes, retaliation and diplomatic exchanges have left the future of the truce and the status of the Strait of Hormuz in renewed doubt.

With PTI Inputs

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