The United States Central Command announced on 7 July that it had completed a new round of offensive strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 military sites and over 60 small boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The operation, which used precision-guided munitions, was described by CENTCOM as an immediate response to recent Iranian attacks on three commercial tankers transiting the strait. According to the US military, the targets included air defence systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar sites and anti-ship missile capabilities.

Viewed from Washington, the strikes are framed as a necessary measure to degrade Iran’s ability to disrupt international shipping and to enforce a ceasefire agreement that the US says Iran violated. CENTCOM called the Iranian attacks a “blatant and dangerous violation” of that ceasefire. In Tehran, the foreign ministry denied any involvement in the tanker incidents, with spokesman Esmail Baghaei dismissing the accusations as contrary to the principle of good neighbourliness. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a joint military command, vowed a “crushing response” to the US strikes, while Iranian media close to the IRGC claimed, without independent confirmation, that the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain had been hit in retaliation.

The escalation sent oil prices up by more than three percent in Asian trading, with Brent crude rising above $75 per barrel. Hours before the strikes, the US Treasury had revoked a temporary license that allowed limited Iranian oil sales, citing Tehran’s role in the tanker attacks. The three vessels targeted by Iran, according to CENTCOM, were the MT Al Rekayat (Marshall Islands flag), MT Wadian (Saudi flag) and MT Cyprus Prosperity (Liberia flag). US officials, speaking to media, said the operation was four to five times larger than a previous round of strikes about ten days earlier, designed to impose a heavier cost on Iran’s military infrastructure.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes, has been a flashpoint since the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and subsequent tanker attacks. The current ceasefire, brokered in recent weeks, had temporarily eased tensions, but the latest incidents threaten its viability. US forces remain on high alert, with CENTCOM stating they are prepared to hold Iran accountable if it fails to adhere to the agreement. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian cut short a visit to Iraq for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, returning to Tehran as the situation unfolded. The dossier now hinges on whether Iran follows through on its threat of a counter-strike and whether diplomatic channels can salvage the ceasefire.