The United States resumed a full naval blockade on Iranian ports on 14 July, the same day its forces completed a seven-hour wave of strikes against dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s coast. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the blockade, which entered into force at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, applies to all vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by declaring the strait would remain closed “until the United States ends its aggressive actions” and launched cruise missiles and drones at what it described as American logistical and command facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.

Viewed from Washington, the operations are framed as a direct response to what CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper called a deliberate Iranian campaign against civilian shipping. Cooper stated that over seven days Iran had attacked seven commercial vessels, leaving nearly a dozen crew members dead, missing, or wounded, and had fired dozens of missiles and drones at neighbouring Gulf states. President Donald Trump told Fox News that strikes would continue “until I say that’s enough” and threatened to target power plants and bridges the following week unless Tehran returned to negotiations. He simultaneously withdrew a proposal to levy a 20 percent fee on Hormuz transits, saying Gulf allies would instead conclude trade and investment agreements with Washington.

From Tehran’s perspective, the renewed blockade and strikes have effectively dismantled the memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June under Pakistani mediation. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US decision “led, in one way or another, to undermining the memorandum.” The IRGC warned it could close additional oil and gas export routes serving American and allied interests, while Iranian state media reported retaliatory strikes on a logistics centre in Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah area, facilities used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and a base in Jordan’s Azraq region. Jordan’s military confirmed its air defences intercepted three ballistic missiles fired from Iran.

The United Nations has voiced alarm over the “severe social, economic and humanitarian consequences” of paralysing the strait, which it described as a vital artery for food, medicine and energy supplies. The previous US blockade, imposed from April to June, was lifted after the ceasefire memorandum, which set a 60-day timeline for broader negotiations including on Iran’s nuclear programme. That diplomatic track has now collapsed, with Trump stating that talks held on Tuesday had failed to produce an agreement and that the military pressure would intensify. More than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are currently operating across the Middle East, while Iran maintains its closure of the strait and signals further escalation if the blockade persists.