The United States intensified military action against Iran starting July 13, 2026, with waves of air, drone, and naval strikes targeting Iranian military installations near the Strait of Hormuz [1, 2, 3, 4]. US forces focused on disabling Iranian air defenses, radar sites, missile facilities, and drone operations to limit threats to commercial shipping lanes in the strategic waterway [2, 4, 5].

The strikes included disabling an Iranian oil tanker attempting to breach the US naval blockade by firing Hellfire missiles into its smokestack [3]. The US has imposed and reimposed the blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas, maintaining pressure on supply routes [1, 2, 6].

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps responded by warning it may close additional regional oil and gas export routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz [1]. Iranian forces launched attacks on US-targeted bases in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, while Iranian state media reported explosions in several port cities across Iran [1, 2, 7].

US President Donald Trump threatened a further escalation starting next week, saying, “Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate” [2]. Trump declared the strikes would “continue until I say it’s enough,” expressing confidence that Iran would be forced to negotiate [7, 8, 9]. He added, “I'll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we'll hit energy targets” [9].

Earlier, Trump considered imposing a 20% toll on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pressure Iran, but he canceled this plan after discussions with Gulf state leaders and instead pledged increased US-Gulf trade and investment deals [1, 2, 6, 4].

The US also raised the possibility of strikes on Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground Iranian nuclear site, though recent activity there remains minimal or unknown [5, 10, 11].

The US strikes began soon after Trump announced plans over July 13-14 to hit Iran “very hard” and signaled targeting of the Pickaxe Mountain site [10, 11]. The military campaign entered its fourth day on July 15, as Trump warned of escalating attacks on civilian infrastructure if Iran refuses to negotiate [2, 7, 8, 9].