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The United States struck Iran after Tehran attacked a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then fired towards Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, signalling a wider Gulf confrontation.
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Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 12, 2026 08:54 IST
The United States attacked Iran early on Sunday after Tehran targeted a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, setting a container ship on fire and forcing its crew to abandon it. Iran then appeared to respond with strikes aimed at Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, widening the latest crossfire in the Persian Gulf.
The escalation came after US President Donald Trump suggested that an interim deal and ceasefire in the Iran war was "over". US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online: "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay."
The United Arab Emirates warned people on Sunday of an incoming missile and drone attack, as explosions were heard in nearby Qatar. A missile alert was sounded in Qatar soon after the blasts, and Qatar's military said in a statement that it intercepted the incoming Iranian fire. Missile alerts were also sounded in Bahrain, the island kingdom in the Persian Gulf that is home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. It was not immediately clear what locations were under attack in the UAE, which had not so far been targeted in the latest round of attacks by Iran.
In the Strait of Hormuz, a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iran and suffered "significant engineroom damage", US Central Command said. It said a civilian crew member was missing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, overseen by the British military, said the ship had been travelling along a route close to the Oman shoreline. It said ships had been using that route to move in and out of the Persian Gulf while avoiding Iranian territorial waters. The centre said the crew abandoned the ship after it caught fire.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said multiple vessels had "disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route". It said one of them "was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop". Iran also said the strait would remain closed "until further notice" and warned that it could target "additional enemy bases in the region" if it faced more attacks.
The latest developments saw the US strike Iran after the attack on the ship in the Strait of Hormuz, followed by reported Iranian strikes towards Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, as tensions across the Persian Gulf rose further.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 12, 2026 08:54 IST
