- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The US has launched Hellfire missiles at an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had disabled the Belma, a Curacao-flagged merchant vessel, that had been attempting to sail towards Kharg Island by firing a precision missile on Wednesday night. The US agency said that the tanker had ignored multiple warnings before its military was forced to intervene by launching missiles into the ship's smokestack. Wednesday saw the US launch a fifth night of attacks on the Strait of Hormuz as it reimposed a naval blockade of Iran's ports. Washington insists the blockade is aimed at reopening the waterway, which Iran closed last Saturday after a fragile truce collapsed. It comes amid claims that President Donald Trump is considering expanding military operations in Iran. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump hosted a Situation Room meeting on Tuesday evening, in which he discussed using US troops to seize Kharg Island, Iranâs main oil export terminal, and other territory along the strait. The potential bombing of a tunnel complex at Pickaxe Mountain was also discussed at the meeting, which included senior officials such as Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The US has launched Hellfire missiles at an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz US Central Command (Centcom) said it had disabled the merchant vessel, that had been attempting to sail towards Kharg Island Fotage shows the moment the vessel was struck After the first strikes on Wednesday night, Tehran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf issued a statement saying: 'We are in an essential and existential war with America'. Iranian army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war, was a 'red line' for Iran over which it maintains firm control. 'The Americans thought that by attacking some of our bases on the southern coasts of the country, they could take control of this strategic strait,' Akraminia said. 'However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the ability to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz from every single point of its territory, and this matter is never dependent on coasts and islands.' Three US officials told Reuters that US strikes aimed at forcing open the strait are also targeting Iranian military capabilities that the US would want to destroy before executing more complex operations. Iran's army earlier said in reference to the strait: 'We will undoubtedly resist until the end and will neutralise American interventions in the region'. Iran's military spokesperson has said that the only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was for the US to comply with the 14-point memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in June, and the implementation of 'Iranian regulations' regarding ship traffic in the strait. Trump on Tuesday threatened to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations. A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam,Oman, July 15, 2026 This screen grab made on July 15, 2026, from a handout video released by US Central Command on July 13, 2026, shows what the US military says is a strike in Iran This screen grab taken on July 15, 2026, from video footage released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)'s Sepah News website on July 14, 2026, allegedly shows a missile being launched from an undisclosed location towards US targets in Bahrain and Kuwait Akraminia said that if Trump carried out the threat, Iran's armed forces would strike 'all remaining infrastructure' across the region, and the response would be more severe, wider in scope and more destructive than previous attacks. Iran said on Thursday it had targeted US bases in Kuwait and Jordan, warning its neighbours that allowing the US to launch attacks against it would not go unanswered. 'Our neighbours should know that providing a base to the Americans and allowing them to fire on Iranian soil is unacceptable and will not go unanswered,' Iran's army said in a statement. By early Thursday in the Middle East, sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Kuwait said it was responding to 'hostile drone threats'. Iran's army said it targeted the Al Azraq Air Base in Jordan with ballistic missiles, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had destroyed the satellite communications centre and early warning radar at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, as well as a U.S. military pier in the Al Shuaiba area of Kuwait. The Bahraini Defence Ministry said the country's air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed some Iranian aerial attacks targeting the kingdom on Thursday. The latest escalation and Iran's threats to shut off more regional energy exports and possibly strike regional infrastructure raise the spectre of a return to full-scale war in the region. Analysts say Iran has signalled it may use its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and putting a second of the world's most vital energy arteries at risk. The war has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, where conflict restarted between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source The US has launched Hellfire missiles at an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (Centcom) said it had disabled the Belma, a Curacao-flagged merchant vessel, that had been attempting to sail towardsâŚ
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Omanâs Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vesselâs owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemenâs Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait â at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the worldâs trade usually passes â would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdomâs âunjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 yearsâ.
Saudi Arabia said it would take âall necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international lawâ. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iranâs president said the country had returned âfull-scale warâ, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan â a key mediator in the conflict â for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay âmany times overâ for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British militaryâs United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iranâs Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US militaryâs Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to âdegradeâ Iranâs ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the countryâs only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iranâs launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.