US–Iran Exchange of Strikes Over Strait of Hormuz

The United States military struck more than 140 Iranian military targets on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, hitting missile and drone sites, naval facilities, ammunition depots, communication networks, and coastal surveillance locations. Iran launched wide-ranging retaliatory drone and missile strikes on US bases and allies across the Gulf region on Sunday, targeting facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE.

The escalation followed Iran's attack on the Cypriot-flagged container ship MV GFS Galaxy as it transited the Strait of Hormuz on a southerly route along the Omani shoreline. The attack disabled the vessel and forced its crew to abandon ship; one Indian crew member remained missing.

Despite declaring the ceasefire over, President Trump said talks aimed at ending the war would continue. Mediators including Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman were working to revive the ceasefire process.

The current crisis emerged against the backdrop of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June, which extended a ceasefire by 60 days to allow restoration of trade through the Strait and to create space for talks on Iran's nuclear programme and sanctions relief. The attacks on commercial vessels earlier in the week occurred on the southern route near the Omani coast, which Iran said had not been approved.

The war began on 28 February 2026 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at his Tehran residence. Iran subsequently attacked Israel and US targets and allies in the Gulf. Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first public statement since his father's funeral, vowing that vengeance for his father's killing was inevitable and did not depend on any individual's survival.

The US stated its strikes were intended to degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Center-left outlets reported this stated justification; the claim was not disputed by sources across the spectrum.

Iran's IRGC claimed to have struck US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman, and hit fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan, including its command centre and MQ-9 drone hangars. Bahrain reported intercepting attacks and Jordan reported shooting down four Iranian missiles.

Center-left and center-right outlets reported that US strikes hit targets in Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, with explosions reported near Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island. BBC News reported that Iran's Health Ministry stated 17 people were killed and 115 injured in the US strikes on Iran.

Center-left outlets reported that Iran privately told US officials that its earlier attacks on tankers were a mistake and attributed them to a rogue internal group of hardliners trying to undermine negotiations. This claim was sourced to senior US officials and US media; Iranian authorities did not make this acknowledgment publicly.

Center-left outlets reported that the US issued demands through regional mediators that Iran publicly declare the Strait of Hormuz open and pledge to stop attacking commercial ships. These demands were conveyed as part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

A center-right outlet and a left outlet reported that Trump declared on Truth Social that the US would be 'the Guardian of the Hormuz Strait,' would charge 20% on all cargo traversing it, and was reinstating the blockade of Iranian ports. Iran's IRGC stated the strait would remain closed until the 'end of US interference' and warned it would target additional enemy bases in the region if faced with further US attacks.

Middle East Eye reported that Iran's top joint military command (Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters) warned regional leaders that any cooperation with the US would be considered a threat of war against Iran, and blamed the US and its allies for any wider regional conflict. No other outlet carried this specific statement.

The Guardian reported that Oman condemned Iran's attack on the port of Duqm, which occurred just hours after Oman had hosted an Iranian delegation for talks on security in the Strait of Hormuz. The Times of Israel reported that Iran is seeking a joint mechanism with Oman for management of the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that US pressure on Oman has hindered these efforts.

Iran's IRGC and US Central Command offered directly contradictory accounts of whether the Strait of Hormuz remained open. The IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz closed; the US and Centcom asserted the strait remained open and that traffic was continuing to transit at reduced levels. This dispute was reported across outlets from center-left to center-right and left.

The IRGC and Centcom gave conflicting accounts of the attack on the MV GFS Galaxy. The IRGC said it fired at vessels because they 'disregarded warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route.' Centcom characterized the same attack as a 'blatant' unprovoked strike on a civilian vessel.

President Trump and Iran's Foreign Minister offered conflicting accounts of the ceasefire's status. Trump claimed Iran had agreed to a deal on Saturday before subsequently attacking the Cyprus-flagged ship; Iran did not publicly refer to any such talks or deal. Trump declared that the Iranian attacks meant the ceasefire was over, while Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US of violating the ceasefire deal.