Key Takeaways
- U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a third wave of heavy airstrikes against 140 Iranian military targets on July 12, 2026, bringing the three-night total to over 300 targets destroyed.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the Strait of Hormuz closed "until further notice," a claim the U.S. military has rejected, insisting that commercial traffic continues to flow.
- The escalation follows an Iranian attack on the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, which suffered significant engine room damage and left one civilian crew member missing.
- Oil prices saw volatile trading, with Brent crude (BRENT) and WTI (WTI) spiking over 5% earlier in the week before settling as markets weigh the risk of a total breakdown in regional ceasefire negotiations.
- Iran retaliated by launching drone and missile strikes against U.S.-linked facilities in Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, significantly expanding the scope of the conflict.
U.S. Central Command forces began a massive new round of strikes against Iranian military assets at 5 p.m. ET on July 12, 2026. The operation, directed by the Commander in Chief, aims to degrade Iran's capability to harass and attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway responsible for 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil transit.
The strikes targeted a wide array of infrastructure, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, and naval facilities along Iran's southern coast. President Donald Trump confirmed the intensity of the assault, stating that the U.S. "bombed the hell out of them" after Iran allegedly walked away from a "perfect deal" to instead attack civilian mariners.
The IRGC responded by declaring the Strait of Hormuz a closed zone, citing "illegal movements" by U.S. forces. Despite this declaration, CENTCOM maintains that the international waterway remains open to lawful transit and that U.S. forces are positioned to ensure freedom of navigation.
Regional tensions have reached a boiling point as Iran expanded its retaliatory strikes to neighboring Gulf states. Reports indicate that Iranian forces targeted the Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan and the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar (QATAR), while also striking naval logistics hubs at the Omani port of Duqm.
Energy markets are reacting sharply to the potential collapse of the interim ceasefire signed in June. While oil prices eased slightly on Thursday to approximately $77 per barrel for Brent, the renewed fighting has forced war underwriters to advise shipping companies to pause voyages through the region, threatening a return to the supply constraints seen earlier this year.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.