The United States launched a ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Monday, escalating the conflict after American troop casualties in Jordan and Iraq.
As both sides exchanged attacks, fresh concerns emerged over the safety of the Strait of Hormuz after reports of damaged oil tankers and renewed threats to one of the world's busiest energy corridors.
The US military intensified its campaign against Iran, with explosions reported across several parts of the country during the ninth consecutive night of attacks.
According to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency, blasts were heard in Hormozgan and Bushehr provinces, while the cities and regions of Sirik, Chabahar, Konarak, Tabriz, Khuzestan, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini also came under attack.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it had begun "a new wave of strikes" aimed at degrading Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The military said the operation targeted Iranian military command centres, air defence systems and coastal surveillance positions but did not disclose additional operational details.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 20, 2026
US President Donald Trump said Washington had carried out another severe attack on Iran, while repeating his long-standing claim that Tehran had been left with "almost nothing."
Attacks intensified after US military casualties
The latest escalation came after American military personnel were killed in recent incidents in Jordan and Iraq.
The US military said one service member died on Saturday in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance recovered from a downed Iranian attack drone. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later clarified that the death was accidental and occurred while personnel were handling the drone.
CENTCOM began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran at 7 p.m. ET today for the ninth consecutive night. The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 19, 2026
Earlier, the US military had announced that two American service members were killed in Jordan and another remained missing. On Sunday, CENTCOM said unidentified remains had been recovered from the site of Friday's attack and were undergoing examination for identification.
The latest announcements bring the total number of US military personnel killed since the conflict began to 17, while more than 420 others have been wounded.
Iran retaliates with missile attacks
Iran responded by launching another wave of missiles from Lorestan province, according to Iranian media.
Iranian sources claimed the missiles targeted enemy ships near the Emirati coast, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had carried out a surprise strike against what it described as the enemy's special operations headquarters in Syria's Al-Tanf region.
The Revolutionary Guards also claimed they targeted US aircraft stationed at Jordan's Aqaba Airport with ballistic missiles and said Iranian missiles managed to penetrate Jordan's air defence system.
The IRGC further claimed that 20 warehouses belonging to US military installations in Jordan had been destroyed during the attacks.
Iranian media also reported that an enemy drone was shot down in the country's southern region, while the Revolutionary Guards claimed they had downed an American MQ-9 drone in Kermanshah province.
Iran expands attacks
Iran had earlier launched drone attacks on US military assets and equipment at Kuwait's Al-Adiri Camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, Iranian state television reported.
Kuwait confirmed that a desalination plant had been struck for the second consecutive day, triggering a fire and damaging critical civilian infrastructure. The government said emergency measures were activated immediately to contain the situation and protect the national electricity grid.
An air defence alert was also issued in Kuwait as tensions continued to rise across the Gulf.
Oil tanker incidents heighten Hormuz crisis
The Strait of Hormuz remained at the centre of the confrontation as maritime security deteriorated.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported receiving information that a vessel had caught fire near the Omani coast, although it said the exact cause had not yet been verified.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards later claimed that two oil tankers had exploded and become immobilised while attempting to transit what it described as an unsafe southern route through the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Guards, the vessels had been encouraged by the US military to use that passage.
The statement did not identify the vessels, their flags, crews or report any casualties. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Iranian media also reported that missiles struck enemy ships near the UAE coast and that an oil tanker caught fire near Lima, off the Omani coast.
The Revolutionary Guards warned that the Strait of Hormuz would remain unsafe as long as US military operations continued, declaring that the passage would not be secure for oil, gas or petrochemical shipments.
Shipping activity through the vital waterway has already slowed. LSEG data showed that only four vessels passed through the Strait on Sunday, compared with eight the previous day. The data also showed that at least three oil-product tankers and one Very Large Crude Carrier entered the Strait since Friday to load crude.
Amid growing fears over global energy supplies, international oil prices climbed around 2%, rising above $90 per barrel.
US says attacks will continue until shipping secure
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the ongoing military campaign, saying Washington would continue targeting Iran while commercial shipping remained under threat.
"The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway," Rubio said, adding that the United States would continue responding as long as Iran sought to control maritime traffic.
Rubio also stressed that Washington remained open to a diplomatic solution despite the escalating military campaign.
Growing fears of further escalation prompted the US Embassy in Bahrain's capital, Manama, to issue a security alert. The advisory warned of the possibility that Iran could target locations in Bahrain as regional tensions intensified.
Conflict continues despite failed ceasefire
The current escalation follows the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreement signed one month ago after both Washington and Tehran accused each other of repeated violations.
The broader conflict began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran, saying the objective was to dismantle Tehran's nuclear and missile programmes and weaken its regional proxy groups.
Since then, the war has killed thousands of people, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, while raising fears of a prolonged regional conflict with major implications for global energy markets and international security.
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