{"id":65309,"date":"2026-07-23T19:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-forces-launch-13th-night-of-strikes-on-iran-amid-rising-regional-tensions\/65309\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T23:38:13","slug":"u-s-forces-launch-13th-night-of-strikes-on-iran-amid-rising-regional-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-forces-launch-13th-night-of-strikes-on-iran-amid-rising-regional-tensions\/65309\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Forces Launch 13th Night of Strikes on Iran Amid Rising Regional Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> launched its <strong>13th consecutive night<\/strong> of airstrikes against Iranian military targets at <strong>6:45 p.m. ET<\/strong> on July 23, 2026.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Multiple explosions<\/strong> were reported in the southern Iranian city of <strong>Ahvaz<\/strong> and near the <strong>Bushehr<\/strong> nuclear power plant, where a missile reportedly struck a nearby power station.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Australia&#39;s Flash July PMI<\/strong> data showed a surprise jump in private sector activity, with the <strong>Composite PMI rising to 52.6<\/strong>, its highest level since January.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Global <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a><\/strong> have surpassed <strong>$100 per barrel<\/strong> as Yemen&#39;s Houthi rebels reportedly attacked two Saudi oil tankers, threatening to further disrupt Red Sea trade routes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>U.S. Intensifies Military Campaign Against IRGC<\/h2>\n<p>The U.S. military has extended its air campaign into a second full week, targeting <strong>Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/strong> assets across southern Iran. According to <strong>U.S. Central Command<\/strong>, the latest wave of strikes began at <strong>6:45 p.m. ET<\/strong> and is specifically designed to diminish threats to commercial shipping in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Local reports from the <strong>Fars News Agency<\/strong> confirmed multiple blasts in <strong>Ahvaz<\/strong>, a critical industrial hub in the Khuzestan province. Additional strikes were reported near <strong>Bushehr<\/strong>, where local officials stated a missile hit a power station, causing localized outages but reportedly leaving the nearby nuclear facility unaffected.<\/p>\n<h2>Australian Economy Shows Resilience Amid Global Volatility<\/h2>\n<p>In a sharp contrast to the escalating geopolitical tension, <strong>Australia\u2019s<\/strong> private sector reported its strongest growth in six months. The <strong>S&amp;P Global Flash Australia Composite PMI<\/strong> climbed to <strong>52.6<\/strong> in July, up from <strong>50.4<\/strong> in June, driven primarily by a surge in the services sector.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Services PMI<\/strong> jumped to <strong>53.0<\/strong> from <strong>50.5<\/strong>, while <strong>Manufacturing PMI<\/strong> edged higher to <strong>51.7<\/strong>. Analysts suggest that while domestic demand remains robust, persistent weakness in international demand and rising fuel costs\u2014linked to the Middle East conflict\u2014remain significant headwinds for the Australian dollar and trade-exposed firms.<\/p>\n<h2>Market Impact and Energy Security<\/h2>\n<p>The ongoing conflict is exerting significant pressure on global energy markets. With the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> largely closed and new Houthi attacks reported in the <strong>Red Sea<\/strong>, Brent crude has surged past the <strong>$100<\/strong> mark.<\/p>\n<p>Defense contractors and energy firms are seeing increased volatility. Investors are closely monitoring major energy players like Exxon Mobil (<a href=\"\/stock\/XOM\">XOM<\/a>) and Chevron (<a href=\"\/stock\/CVX\">CVX<\/a>), as well as defense giants like Lockheed Martin (<a href=\"\/stock\/LMT\">LMT<\/a>) and Raytheon Technologies (<a href=\"\/stock\/RTX\">RTX<\/a>), as the U.S. maintains a force of over <strong>50,000 service members<\/strong> in the region to enforce maritime blockades and protect shipping lanes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) launched its 13th consecutive night of airstrikes against Iranian military targets at 6:45 p.m. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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