Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Amid US-Iran Military Escalation

The United States launched a third round of strikes on Iran, with US Central Command reporting that US forces hit between 140 and 149 Iranian military targets. In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz closed until further notice and until the end of US interference in the region. The escalation marked a dramatic deterioration in a conflict that had been governed by a fragile ceasefire agreement signed only weeks earlier.

Iran launched missile and drone attacks across multiple Gulf states — including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, and Oman — targeting facilities it described as US military bases. The IRGC claimed to have destroyed specific military facilities in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman, including command and control centres, drone hangars, a jet maintenance centre, radar sites, and naval refuelling facilities at Duqm. However, these claims of destruction have not been independently verified by US authorities.

The IRGC fired on and disabled a Cyprus-registered container ship, the MV GFS Galaxy, in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was disabled by fire and engine room damage; its crew abandoned ship and took to a lifeboat, with one Indian national among the crew missing. India reported that 10 of its 11 nationals aboard had been rescued, with one remaining missing, and condemned the attack, calling for free and unimpeded navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC subsequently claimed to have intercepted and disabled a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing it of violating regulations. This claim has not been independently corroborated beyond the IRGC's own statements.

A US-Iranian memorandum of understanding had been signed on 17 June, extending a ceasefire by 60 days. The agreement was intended to restore maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz and create space for talks on Iran's nuclear programme and sanctions relief. The MoU began to unravel when Iran attacked three commercial vessels attempting to cross a US-recommended southern route through Omani waters that Iran had not approved, triggering US retaliatory missile strikes and beginning nearly a week of escalation.

Talks were held in Oman on Saturday between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi, and a Qatari delegation, aimed at coordinating shipping arrangements and maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, but had not yet led to an agreement. Oman condemned the Iranian attack on its territory, which occurred shortly after Iran's foreign minister and delegation departed Muscat following the diplomatic talks.

Iran and the US held directly contradictory positions on which shipping route was legitimate through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran conditioned any ceasefire-period shipping on coordination with Iranian authorities and use of an approved route close to Iran's coast. The US, by contrast, recommended a separate southern route through Omani waters that Iran had not approved. This fundamental disagreement over maritime corridors became a flashpoint for the broader escalation.

The operational status of the Strait of Hormuz itself became a point of dispute. The IRGC stated the waterway would remain closed until the end of US interference, while US Central Command asserted that commercial vessels were continuing to transit through the strait despite Iran's closure announcement. These contradictory claims left the actual navigability of one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints unclear.

Iran and the United States offered fundamentally different characterizations of the attack on the GFS Galaxy. The IRGC stated the vessel was sailing an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz in violation of approved shipping corridors — framing the action as enforcement of maritime regulations. US Central Command, by contrast, characterized the incident as a 'blatant' attack on a commercial vessel, rejecting any suggestion that the ship had violated legitimate rules.

US President Donald Trump declared that the ceasefire was effectively over, while Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US of violating the deal. Despite Trump's declaration, he stated that talks would still continue and mediators were trying to revive the process. The two sides blamed each other for the collapse of the June agreement, with no resolution in sight.

Jordan stated that three Iranian missiles had fallen on its soil. The IRGC claimed to have destroyed a command and control centre and drone hangars at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan, though these claims have not been independently verified by Jordanian or US authorities.

Qatar reported intercepting missile attacks. Three people, including a child, were wounded by falling debris from missile interception operations. The Qatari government's framing emphasized the casualties resulted from defensive interception activity rather than direct missile impacts.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that 'Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.' The comment came as US forces prepared for the third round of strikes on Iranian military targets, signalling the administration's intent to respond forcefully to Iran's actions.

Left-leaning outlets reported that the UAE stated missile threats detected earlier were outside the country's borders — a clarification not covered by center or right-leaning sources. The detail suggested the UAE was seeking to minimize public alarm about the Iranian attacks while acknowledging the regional threat.

The Guardian, a center-left British outlet, reported that a senior Iranian source told Reuters that Iran, the US, Qatar, and Pakistan had agreed to negotiate in a call, with mediators trying to arrange the call while Araghchi was still in Oman. According to this account, it was unclear whether these diplomatic efforts bore fruit before the IRGC began bombing Omani targets. No other outlets corroborated these specific details about the four-party negotiation framework.