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Strait Attacks Resume
After a memorandum of understanding in June 2026 sought to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran repeatedly threatened and attacked ships passing through the strait, aiming to coerce commercial vessels and the international community into following routes and protocols set by Iran.
The Encyclopedia Britannica account says Iran’s activity in the strait provoked strikes by the United States, particularly after three ships were attacked on July 6–7, and it adds that on July 7 U.S. President Donald Trump said he considered the truce to be over.
The Institute for the Study of War and The Critical Threats Project reported that Iran has attacked at least three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, including two Emirati tankers on July 13 attempting to transit via the southern route along Oman’s coast.
ISW-CTP said the Iranian attacks killed one crew member and wounded eight others, and it added that US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on July 13 it conducted another wave of strikes against Iranian military targets used to threaten shipping in the strait.
In the same period, the Institute for the Study of War and The Critical Threats Project reported that Iran responded to US strikes by attacking US military bases across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan on July 14.
Trump, Bases, and Tactics
The Encyclopedia Britannica account ties the renewed strait attacks to a broader breakdown in the ceasefire, saying that on July 7 as the United States stepped up strikes against Iranian assets, Donald Trump said he considered the truce to be over.
It also says that the following day Trump stated that the exchange of fire would not lead to long-term military action, while the Institute for the Study of War and The Critical Threats Project warned that even individual drone and missile attacks can deter vessels from passing through the strait.
ISW-CTP reported that US officials, including Trump, stated the current US campaign to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten shipping could last several weeks, and it described the threshold for disruption as low given risk calculations by ship captains and shipping companies.
The Institute for the Study of War and The Critical Threats Project further reported that Iran struck US military bases across Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan on July 14, and it said the report described Iran using a cluster munition warhead in an attack on Bahrain for the first time.
The same ISW-CTP update said it could not verify the cluster munition report, but it added that if accurate it would represent a notable inflection in Iranian tactics given that Iran had previously only used cluster munition warheads in attacks against Israel.
Energy Hubs and Escalation
A separate account from 조선일보 says the collapse of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire led to a resumption of war, with U.S. offensives against Iran expanding across all fronts and widening to include Iran’s core energy facilities such as nuclear power plants and oil refineries.
It reports that major Iranian cities along the Persian Gulf coast, including Bushehr, Chogha Dak, and Bandar Abbas, came under U.S. airstrikes on the 14th, with at least four locations in Bushehr hit and Bandar Abbas reporting at least five explosions.
The same 조선일보 account says the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is located 17 km southeast of Bushehr and that Abadan, home to the Middle East’s oldest oil refinery, was also targeted.
It also states that on the same day the UAE Ministry of Defense reported that Iranian cruise missiles struck the state-owned tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz, killing one Indian crew member and injuring eight.
조선일보 adds that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps effectively acknowledged the strike, saying, “U.S. forces illegally guided the vessels,” and warning, “Reopening the strait will be further delayed.”
