US strikes Iran again as Tehran hits Gulf allies and oil routes choke

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 21, 2026 01:02 IST

The United States carried out fresh strikes on Iran on Monday after announcing the death of another American service member, while Iran retaliated with attacks on US allies Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. The latest escalation came as the interim deal signed last month to end the fighting fell apart and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled.

At the same time, there were signs of diplomatic movement as Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni travelled to Pakistan, which has been trying to mediate in the conflict. The fighting has also raised concerns over world energy supplies, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen saying they planned to prevent Saudi Arabia from shipping through the Red Sea, an alternative route for oil exports during the war.

The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded above USD 88 a barrel on Monday, while regular petrol in the US rose to an average of USD 4 a gallon. The US military identified two soldiers killed in Jordan in attacks that left a third person missing. Separately, it confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday during the "controlled detonation" of a downed Iranian drone.

President Donald Trump said on social media: "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!" Trump was also due to attend a ceremony on Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where the remains of at least one service member were expected to arrive.

The US military's Central Command said its ninth straight night of airstrikes targeted "Iranian military command centres, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks". Last week, the US struck bridges and a tower at an Iranian port. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said the American strikes killed at least one person around Tabriz, a northwestern city about 520 km from Tehran that is believed to host underground missile bases run by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

IRNA also reported that US strikes likely hit Bandar Imam Khomeini in Khuzestan province, Sirik and Jask in Hormozgan province, and Konarak and Chahbahar in Sistan and Baluchistan province. On Monday evening, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said a second ship had been attacked a day earlier in the Strait of Hormuz, this time off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Another vessel caught fire in the strait after being hit by a projectile near the coast of Oman. Its crew abandoned the vessel, which remained adrift and on fire for hours. The route around Oman had been the one the US military encouraged ships to use to avoid Iran's control, but the Revolutionary Guard later said it was targeting tankers in the strait.

Iran also struck US-allied countries across the region. Kuwait said its air defences fired at an incoming barrage. Jordan's armed forces said on Monday evening that they had shot down three Iranian missiles and that there had been no material damage or casualties. Bahrain's Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country's air traffic systems, saying they endangered civilian travel. There was no immediate word from Iran on the attacks in Kuwait and Jordan.

A new pressure point for energy markets emerged after Yemen's Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed rebels said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in response to an attack on Sanaa Airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been using a pipeline to the Red Sea to move millions of barrels of oil to market. The Houthis had earlier shown they could disrupt shipping there by attacking more than 100 vessels during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia.

Trump has threatened to target Iran's power stations and bridges in an effort to force Tehran to loosen its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supplies moved before the war. Recent attacks suggest the US military is carrying out that plan. Over the past week, the US has also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop crude oil shipments, and the military said it had redirected seven ships and disabled one since then.

Pakistan has stepped up efforts in recent days to revive the interim ceasefire reached last month, which had called for resolving the remaining issues linked to the war within 60 days. The truce collapsed after both sides resumed attacks on each other's military sites and other infrastructure. Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, "God willing, We will have good news."

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington remained open to talks with Tehran, but added that "it has to be real". He said, "If the door opens to diplomacy - if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system, or take control of the negotiations - that'll be a very positive development. That's not where we are tonight, unfortunately." Iranian authorities said on Sunday that at least 50 people had been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of US strikes. Since the war began on February 28, 17 US service members have been killed. Overall, Monday saw renewed strikes, retaliation across the region, fresh risks to oil supply routes and a parallel diplomatic effort centred on talks in Pakistan.

With PTI Inputs

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