US strikes Iran for 12th night as Strait of Hormuz shipping crisis deepens

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 23, 2026 06:46 IST

The US military said on Wednesday it carried out a 12th straight night of strikes against Iran, as both sides stepped up attacks that increasingly hit civilian infrastructure. US Central Command said the strikes were meant to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters", as Washington seeks to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore international shipping through the waterway.

The fighting has continued with little visible progress on diplomacy. President Donald Trump warned that the US would destroy one bridge or power plant every time Iran fired at a ship in the strait, while Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would follow an "eye for an eye" defence doctrine. The conflict has kept the crucial route for global energy largely shut, adding to economic disruption and pushing up fuel prices.

Trump wrote on social media: "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT." Araghchi responded on X, saying: "Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response."

Iranian state media said US missiles struck areas late on Wednesday near Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran. It said two people were killed in a US missile strike in Shalamcheh on the Iraqi border early on Thursday. In Kuwait, military officials said on social media that their air defences were "confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression". Iran has responded to US attacks by targeting energy facilities and desalination plants that supply drinking water in neighbouring Gulf countries. law generally bars such attacks unless the facilities are being used for military purposes.

The cost of the war is rising. The Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas in peacetime, remains closed, shaking the global economy. A new threat by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea has also put another trade chokepoint at risk. Trump travelled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four US service members. A day earlier, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate hearing that the US had spent USD 37.5 billion on the war so far. Benchmark Brent crude rose above USD 93 a barrel, up from less than USD 72 earlier this month, while petrol prices have also climbed.

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and possibly charge fees in the strait, which had been open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait overseen by US forces and meant to remain outside Tehran's control. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the US, appeared to dismiss Trump's warning, writing on social media: "We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions."

Diplomatic efforts showed no clear breakthrough. Before the latest strikes, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, which has been a key mediator, in a bid to revive talks. Iran's Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Zeinivand said "diplomacy isn't called off" and that messages were still being exchanged, according to IRNA, though he gave no details. An Arab diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Gulf states were becoming more pessimistic about finding a way to stop the escalating hostilities. He said countries in the region, along with Pakistan and Turkey, were still pushing for de-escalation, but the chances of improvement looked bleak.

At a regional summit in the Philippines, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Iran's actions in the strait. He said: "If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don't pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region." Rubio said the US remained open to talks with Iran, "but right now they don't seem to be serious about that", and that the immediate focus was on protecting shipping. In response to Iran's attacks, the US re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump also signalled that US forces could target Pickaxe Mountain, an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried under a mountain south of the Natanz enrichment facility. Natanz was bombed by the US during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025, but Pickaxe Mountain was not hit and Iran has continued digging there. Trump said on Tuesday from the Oval Office that the US had "no interest in meeting". Iran has long said its nuclear programme is peaceful, even as it resumed enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels after Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal during his first term. Overall, the conflict has deepened military and economic pressure, while threats have sharpened and diplomacy has yet to show results.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends