# US unleashes new “heavy wave” of strikes on Iran as Gulf tensions spike

By The Current Tribune · World · Published Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:26:23 GMT · Updated Thu, 30 Jul 2026 21:26:23 GMT
Source: The Current Tribune — https://currenttribune.com/article/us-attacks-on-iran-heavy-wave

The United States has launched a new “heavy wave” of strikes on Iran after a brief pause, escalating a confrontation that now stretches from the Strait of Hormuz to Jordan and Kuwait. The latest US attacks, described by Central Command as a major response to Iranian missile fire on American forces, push the standoff into a more dangerous phase for the wider Gulf region.

## US strikes resume after five-night pause

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it had “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” by 10pm ET on Wednesday (02:00 GMT Thursday), ending a five-night lull in its campaign. The military said the attacks were carried out in direct response to Iranian strikes on US forces at a base in Jordan one day earlier.

In a statement, CENTCOM said the latest barrage hit dozens of targets tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Those targets reportedly included military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and air defence sites, and maritime assets.

The renewed bombardment comes after nearly two weeks of nightly US strikes earlier this month, which Washington framed as an effort to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten US troops and shipping near the Strait of Hormuz. The administration had paused those raids on Friday, but Iranian missile fire on US positions in Jordan appears to have shattered that pause within days.

## Casualties mount in Iran’s south

Iranian officials and local media reported both civilian and military casualties from the latest US attacks, particularly across the country’s southern provinces bordering the Gulf.

On Qeshm Island – Iran’s largest island in the Gulf – a couple and their two-year-old child were reported killed when a residential building was struck. Iranian outlets also said three IRGC personnel died in a US missile attack.

Bombings were reported in the southwestern cities of Ahvaz and Abadan in Khuzestan province, home to critical oil infrastructure. A semi-official news agency said strikes triggered power outages in Ahvaz, while a provincial deputy security minister told state television that US forces hit multiple locations in Abadan.

Further attacks were reported in the southern province of Bushehr and in the Fars province cities of Kazerun and Farashband. Analysts in Tehran said the new wave of strikes appeared to be concentrated along Iran’s southern belt, echoing the pattern of the earlier 13-day US campaign focused on areas near the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

## Iran hits back in Jordan, fire spills into Kuwait

Tehran has not stood down. After the latest US strikes, Iran launched missiles at a US airbase and command headquarters in Jordan. Jordanian authorities said their armed forces intercepted five Iranian missiles and reported no casualties, but confirmed the attack on their territory.

The regional fallout has widened beyond Jordan. Both Jordan and Kuwait reported additional Iranian strikes on Thursday. Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said on X that a strike hit a building used by a Chinese company in the north of the country, killing one worker and causing heavy damage. A senior Kuwaiti officer, Major-General Saud Abdulaziz al-Otaibi, said authorities were taking the necessary measures to respond to the incident.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, condemned Iran’s attack on Jordan, calling it a breach of international law and of basic standards of neighbourly conduct. The criticism underscores how quickly the US–Iran clash is pulling in Gulf states that host US forces, sit near vital oil shipping routes, or both.

## Strait of Hormuz at the centre of the storm

Beneath the missile exchanges lies a fight over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint through which a significant share of the world’s oil shipments moves. The focus keyword in this confrontation is US attacks on Iran, but the real leverage is control of that waterway.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said talks with Omani mediators over the Strait of Hormuz were continuing in Tehran through several rounds. But he argued that the waterway is effectively shut down by Washington’s actions, saying international shipping is being harmed “solely because of American actions” and what he described as ongoing military aggression by the US and Israel since late March.

Tehran has accused Washington of attacking Iranian vessels, enforcing what it calls an illegal blockade of ports and transit routes, and sustaining airstrikes on Iranian territory. Earlier this month, Iran rejected an Omani proposal to co-manage shipping lanes through the strait, signalling how far apart the two sides remain on the rules of the game in the Gulf.

For Washington, the strategic goal is to break what it sees as Iran’s grip on Hormuz. CENTCOM said its latest strikes were intended to further reduce threats from Iran and its allied groups to US troops, commercial shipping, and neighbouring Gulf states that sit within range of Iranian missiles and drones.

## Sanctions tighten as missiles fly

Even as bombs fell, the United States leaned on its financial toolkit. The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Wednesday targeting two Iranian companies that it says help run an IRGC-backed insurance scheme. The US alleges the scheme forces commercial ships transiting Hormuz to buy coverage that benefits IRGC-linked networks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would not allow Iran to “hold global commerce hostage” or use the shipping sector to fund the IRGC’s operations. The new measures add economic pressure to a military campaign that is now in its third week.

The combined effect is a multi-front squeeze: airstrikes on IRGC infrastructure, financial penalties on firms tied to maritime control, and diplomatic outreach to Gulf allies alarmed by the growing missile traffic over their borders.

![Oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz amid rising US attacks on Iran and regional tensions](/media/2026/07/us-attacks-on-iran-heavy-wave-inline.webp)
*Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is again at the center of US–Iran tensions. (Photo: Oregon National Guard / BY via Openverse)*

## Diplomacy hangs on, but just

Despite the surge in violence, regional officials insist that quiet channels between Washington and Tehran are still open. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters that negotiations remain under way, saying talks are focused in particular on the Strait of Hormuz and on ways to de-escalate.

Iran’s own diplomats have also pointed to ongoing exchanges with Oman over maritime security. But Baghaei framed the talks as happening against a backdrop of continued attacks and what he labelled American-imposed insecurity throughout the Gulf.

Outside experts are increasingly unsure how long diplomacy can keep up. The latest US attacks on Iran, followed by Iran’s strikes into Jordan and Kuwait, mark a clear upward shift in both the range and intensity of the confrontation. Each new missile launch raises the risk of miscalculation, civilian casualties, or damage to critical energy infrastructure that could jolt global markets.

Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm RANE Network, said Washington now faces a choice between two main escalation paths. One is to continue targeting assets linked specifically to Iran’s efforts to disrupt Hormuz. The other is to move toward what he called a “bridges and power plant” strategy that former US officials, including President Donald Trump, have repeatedly threatened — a strategy that would strike directly at Iran’s core infrastructure and likely invite much broader retaliation.

## How far will Washington go?

Domestically, the White House is walking a tightrope: it has promised to respond forcefully to attacks on US troops and interests, but it has also faced pressure to avoid being dragged into another large-scale Middle Eastern war.

The latest wave of strikes followed Trump’s public vow to hit Iran “very hard” after Tehran’s missile attacks on US forces. Yet some former defence officials say the actual scope of the operations has remained relatively constrained so far.

David Des Roches, a former Pentagon official, argued that the newest raids do not yet constitute a massive assault, suggesting Trump may be trying to keep the response proportionate and leave room for negotiations. That calibration is fragile: every time an American missile lands in a crowded city like Ahvaz or Abadan, local anger deepens, making compromise politically harder on both sides.

The question now is whether Washington is prepared to stay in a cycle of nightly precision strikes and counterstrikes, or whether it will test more daring options aimed at crippling Iran’s ability to project power in the Gulf — and potentially its broader economy.

## What This Means

The new US attacks on Iran mark more than just another exchange of missiles. They signal that a conflict once largely contained to proxy clashes and shadow operations has moved squarely into the open, with direct strikes on Iranian soil and retaliatory fire landing in US partner states.

For the region, that means greater risk on several fronts:

- More civilian casualties as strikes hit dense urban areas in southern Iran.

- Heightened danger for US forces based in Jordan and elsewhere in the Middle East.

- Growing chances that Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are pulled deeper into the confrontation.

- Potential disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil supplies.

For the rest of the world, the fallout may show up first in energy prices and insurance costs as tankers navigate a waterway that both sides now describe as unsafe. The pace and precision of upcoming US attacks on Iran — and Iran’s willingness to keep firing back across borders — will determine whether this remains a bruising but contained confrontation or slides into a broader Gulf war.

*Photo: Oregon National Guard / BY via Openverse*