This body seize taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026 exhibits a cargo ship anchoring close to the Strait of Hormuz off the japanese coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan.
– | Afp | Getty Pictures
The U.S. launched strikes in opposition to Iran for a 3rd consecutive evening on President Donald Trump’s orders, whereas Iranian missiles hit two Emirati oil tankers within the Strait of Hormuz and triggered air-raid warnings throughout the Gulf.
U.S. Central Command stated the strikes would proceed “imposing a heavy value on Iranian forces” and degrade Tehran’s capability to assault delivery within the Strait of Hormuz.
The army motion got here hours after Trump ordered to reinstate a blockade on Iran within the strait Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and floated a 20% toll cost for ships going by the vital power waterway.
Iran retaliated with assaults concentrating on Gulf international locations, together with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain Tuesday morning.
The UAE Protection Ministry stated Tuesday morning that nationwide tankers Mombasa and AI Bahiyah have been focused by two Iranian cruise missiles within the strait’s southern lane, inside Omani territorial waters. The assault killed one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa, injured eight others and prompted “materials injury” to each tankers because of the fires that broke out on board.
The ministry stated it might stay “on the best stage of readiness and preparedness to handle any threats,” and would take all obligatory measures to reply to any makes an attempt to undermine the nation’s safety and stability.
Bahrain, dwelling to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, additionally got here underneath renewed assault, and sounded missile-alert sirens early Tuesday, in accordance with the Related Press, as Iran retaliated to American strikes.
Site visitors by Hormuz is slowing once more with confirmed crossings declining by round 52% week on week over July 10 to 12, in accordance with Kpler, with site visitors reverting to “extra defensive routing patterns” — elevated use of Iranian and darkish routes whereas shunning Omani and corridors approved by Worldwide Maritime Group.
Warfare threat premiums for Strait of Hormuz are anticipated to extend sharply as markets react to the escalating tensions, in accordance with Lloyd’s Checklist Intelligence, as shipowners and charterers have paused choices to transit by the waterway.
The strikes have unraveled the ceasefire following the interim U.S.-Iran settlement signed final month, aimed toward reopening the strait and pausing hostilities for 60 days of negotiations.
The escalation within the area pushed Brent crude up 2% to $85 a barrel on Tuesday, whereas the U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 2.3% to $80 amid renewed uncertainty over industrial delivery by the Hormuz waterway that carried a fifth of the world’s oil and fuel earlier than the battle.
