Here’s what’s happening on the US-Iran warfront on July 13, 2026
- US President Donald Trump said Washington would “run” the strategic waterway and should be reimbursed for acting as its “guardian”
- The IRGC said it stopped two vessels allegedly attempting to cross the strait illegally, as tensions with the US over control of the key trade route escalate.
- Britain will designate the IRGC under its National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, making support or assistance for designated groups a criminal offence.
- US missiles struck three locations in Abadan in Khuzestan province, killing at least two people and wounding three others, Iranian media reported.
- Bahrain said its air defences intercepted Iranian attacks and placed all military units on high alert amid escalating regional hostilities.
- Beijing said restoring navigation through the international waterway serves all nations, after Iran signalled special considerations for China and other “friendly” countries.
- The STOXX 600 edged lower as investors assessed renewed hostilities and uncertainty over efforts to restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Oil prices rose over 4% Sunday evening (US time), as the US and Iran continued fighting over Strait of Hormuz control and traded strikes in the region. While US crude oil futures rose 3.4% to $73.87 per barrel by 6:03 pm ET, Brent futures surged 3.5% to $78.67.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned US military attacks on US over the past day and accused Washington of violating international law. The ministry called on the United Nations and the Security Council to hold the “aggressor parties and those who aided and facilitated them accountable.”
- The US military announced that it was launching another spate of strikes against Iran after hitting 140 targets in their bid to “continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
Yemen escalation likely to remain limited, analyst says
All sides in Yemen are likely to seek to limit their confrontation following attacks on Sanaa and Hodeidah to avoid diverting attention from the US war on Iran, political analyst Hisham al-Omeisy told Al Jazeera.
“I think this will be a limited military escalation, especially with the Americans and others waging another war – they won’t want to draw all of that firepower to Yemen,” he said.
Al-Omeisy added that the recent attacks on Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport were aimed at enforcing red lines.
“This was the Saudis and its allies sending a message to the Iranians and Houthis, that you will not impose a new reality on us,” he said.
Brent crude jumps 3% as US-Iran conflict continues
Brent crude prices jumped more than three percent while gold extended losses as fighting between the United States and Iran continued.
Brent traded just below $78 a barrel in midday trading after US President Donald Trump announced the resumption of a blockade on Iran.
Meanwhile, gold prices fell nearly three percent to $4,005.59 an ounce as of 15:00 GMT.
UN envoy warns of wider escalation in Yemen
The UN envoy to Yemen has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the country and warned of the risk of a wider escalation.
Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said it struck Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
The government has also ordered the closure of all airports “until further notice” and said it would not allow Yemeni airspace to be violated.
In a statement on X, UN envoy Hans Grundberg urged all sides to exercise restraint amid growing regional tensions.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon kill more than 4,300
Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed at least 4,324 people and wounded 12,221 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Israel has continued its assault on southern Lebanon despite a “ceasefire”.
Representatives from Lebanon and Israel are due to meet in Italy next week for another round of talks.
Hormuz tanker traffic falls to two-month low
The number of tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to a two-month low over the past 24 hours as renewed US-Iran fighting and attacks on vessels heightened safety concerns.
Shipping industry sources said more vessels are switching off their public AIS tracking transponders, making it difficult to determine the exact number of ships moving through the waterway.
According to tracking analysis from Kpler, oil and gas tanker traffic fell to its lowest level since May 25.
Shipbroker Gibson warned that another prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could tighten global supplies, drive prices higher and pose significant risks to tanker markets as inventories have rapidly depleted in recent months.
At least 24 killed in latest US strikes on Iran
At least 24 people have been reported killed in Iran since the latest round of US strikes began, including four deaths reported so far on Monday.
US missiles struck three locations in Abadan in the western province of Khuzestan, killing two people and wounding three, according to the Mehr news agency.
One person was killed in a US attack on a military base in Nain, the deputy governor of Isfahan province said.
A US strike on an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr also killed one person and wounded four others, Iranian media reported.
S&P 500 slid to session lows
S&P 500 slid to session lows on Monday after President Donald Trump said he was reinstating a blockade on Iranian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
At 11:30 am ET, US stocks were lower. The Dow Jones fell 107.52 points, or 0.20%, to 52,529.49. The S&P 500 dropped 27.72 points, or 0.37%, to 7,547.67, while the Nasdaq declined 224.65 points, or 0.85%, to 26,056.96.
Iran vows to keep fighting for control of Strait of Hormuz
Mohammed Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Tehran would continue to fight for the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump pledged to take full control of the crucial trade route.
“We defend it so that in the future – for the passage of our ships – we are not forced to pay tribute to the enemy,” Mokhber wrote on X. “Retreating from this vital matter has no place in the mind of any friend of Iran.”
Trump said on Monday that “we’re taking over the Strait of Hormuz”, a day after declaring that the US had “bombed the hell out of” Iran.
Iran asserted control over the previously freely navigable waterway in retaliation for the US-Israeli war launched on February 28.
Israeli forces blow up houses in southern Lebanon
Israeli forces have blown up several houses on the outskirts of Baraachit in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, according to the National News Agency.
Intermittent Israeli shelling has also been reported across several towns in Nabatieh governorate, including Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Tebnit and Kfar Shouba.
Yemen PLC chief orders forces not to widen Iran confrontation
The head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has directed his forces not to expand the “scope of confrontation” against Iran.
The order comes after Saudi airstrikes hit Sanaa International Airport in an attempt to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing at the Houthi-controlled airport, according to the Iran-backed Houthis.
“I directed that the scope of the confrontation not be expanded in order to prevent Iran from dragging Yemen into wars that serve its interests,” PLC chairman Rashad al-Alimi said.
“In the future, we will not allow any aircraft to violate Yemeni airspace, whether it be Sanaa airport or any other airport,” he added.
Israeli shell lands in southern Lebanon village
An Israeli shell landed in Kfar Shouba, a village in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh governorate, according to the National News Agency.
Intermittent artillery fire was also earlier reported in Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Tebnit in the same governorate.
Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon despite a “ceasefire” and ahead of Lebanon-Israel talks scheduled for Tuesday in Rome, Italy.
More than 4,300 people have been killed and 12,200 others wounded since Israel launched its invasion on March 2, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Trump says US is ‘reinstating’ Iran blockade in Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said the United States is “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and will charge ships for safe passage through the strategic waterway.
“USA will be known as the Guardian of the Hormuz Strait,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the US “will be reimbursed at rate of 20% on all cargo shipped”.
Iran says US has ‘seriously jeopardised’ global energy security
The United States has “seriously jeopardised” the security of energy supplies by interfering in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s military said.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Tehran continues to assert its authority and control over the strategic waterway.
“Regrettably, the cooperation of certain countries in the region has also increased the risk of the conflict spreading throughout the region,” Zolfaghari warned.
Iran repairs thousands of homes damaged in US-Israel attacks
Reconstruction is under way on tens of thousands of homes damaged in US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s capital, according to the ISNA news agency.
More than 95 percent of nearly 50,000 housing units that sustained minor or moderate damage have been repaired, Tehran’s Disaster Prevention and Management Organisation told ISNA.
Progress has also been made on about two-thirds of the 2,135 units requiring demolition. Around 200 families are staying in hotels, while another 1,800 have received housing deposits, ISNA reported.
Yemen closes all airports to air traffic
Yemen’s civil aviation authority has ordered the closure of all airports to air traffic until further notice.
The move comes after Yemen’s internationally recognised government said its forces carried out a strike on Sanaa airport on Monday to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
“The Houthi terrorist militia, supported by the Iranian regime, prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the capital’s airport, Sanaa, and insisted that the Iranian aircraft violate Yemeni airspace. Therefore, the airport runway was targeted,” the government said in a statement.
Iran warns US against intervention in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s armed forces have warned the United States against intervening in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened action against countries that cooperate with Washington.
“We do not and will not allow the United States to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz,” Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in comments carried by state broadcaster IRIB.
Iranian forces will “deal severely with any disruption and insecurity” outside Tehran’s designated route, he said.
“Any cooperation with the United States and logistical support for that country’s aggressor army will be considered a war against Iran’s sovereignty and national security,” Zolfaghari said, warning the conflict could “engulf all the countries in the region”.
Trump accuses Iran of breaking deal, vows ‘very hard’ strikes
US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of violating the interim agreement and vowed tougher attacks against the country.
“It was a done deal and then they broke it. They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people – and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,” Trump said, according to a White House statement.
“They’re a bad group of people. They’ve been this way for a long time,” he added.
E3 condemns Iran’s attacks in Strait of Hormuz
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain have condemned Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on countries across the region.
“We condemn Iran’s heinous attacks on merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on countries in the region including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
The group, known as the E3, also called for the restoration of the ceasefire and the resumption of negotiations between the warring parties.
Belgium calls EU action on Israeli settlement imports a ‘token gesture’
Belgium has criticised the European Union’s response to imports from illegal Israeli settlements as insufficient, with Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot calling the bloc’s latest proposals a “token gesture”.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Prevot said Belgium had been pushing for months for concrete measures over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The European Commission has finally proposed a few options in a two-page document. So it gives more the impression of being a token gesture than a genuine willingness to move forward,” Prevot told reporters.
Belgium is seeking concrete proposals that member states can vote on and that can be quickly submitted to the Foreign Affairs Council, he added.
The European Commission is expected to consider stricter export licensing rules, higher import tariffs and a partial or complete ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
Trump says US will ‘run’ Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump has claimed that the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz and should be reimbursed for securing the vital waterway.
“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News.
UK to designate Iran’s IRGC under new security law
The United Kingdom will designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) under its new National Security (State Threats) Act 2026.
The Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR), which the UK says is aligned with Iran, and Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps will also be among the first organisations designated under the new powers.
The UK government said the IMCR has publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks linked to Jewish and Israeli locations in the country.
The new law gives the home secretary the power to designate organisations believed to be involved in foreign power threat activity. It also makes it a criminal offence to express support for, assist or receive material benefits from a designated organisation.
IRGC fires warning shots at ships in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, state television reported, as Iran and the US battle for control of the strategic waterway.
“This morning, two ships that were attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz illegally were targeted and stopped by warning shots fired by the navy of the Revolutionary Guards,” a correspondent based near the strait said.
Iran-US strikes have continued to escalate as both sides vie for control of the key trade route, through which about one-fifth of the world’s energy resources flow.
Two killed as US missiles hit Iran’s Abadan
US missiles struck three locations in the western Iranian city of Abadan in Khuzestan province, according to the Mehr news agency.
Citing the deputy governor, the agency said the attack took place at 13:45 local time At least two unidentified people were killed and three others wounded in the attack.
Artillery fire reported in southern Lebanon
Intermittent artillery fire has been reported between the towns of Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.
Israel has continued its attacks despite a “ceasefire” and ongoing talks with Lebanon. The two countries are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday in Rome, Italy.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 4,300 people, including hundreds of children, have been killed and another 12,200 wounded since Israel launched its invasion of southern Lebanon on March 2.
One killed, seven wounded in US attack on Iran’s Nain
One person was killed and seven others wounded in a US attack on an area in the central Iranian city of Nain early on Monday, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.
The agency cited the deputy governor of Isfahan province for security and law enforcement affairs.
Bahrain says it intercepted Iranian missile and drone attacks
Bahrain’s military said its air defence systems intercepted Iranian missile and drone attacks, accusing Tehran of systematically targeting civilians and private property.
All military units have been placed on high alert to protect the kingdom, while the public has been urged to stay away from suspicious debris and report it immediately.
The military denounced what it called “several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks this morning” on the Gulf state.
Bahraini forces remain at “advanced combat readiness”, the statement said, praising the “high vigilance demonstrated by its valiant personnel in performing their sacred national duty of defending the homeland”.
European shares edge lower as US-Iran tensions escalate
European shares edged lower as investors assessed the escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.09 percent to 640.54 by 08:40 GMT, after recording its sharpest weekly loss since late April on Friday.
The latest escalation has raised questions over an interim agreement reached last month to restore traffic through the crucial strait and open the door for further Iran-US negotiations.
Alongside geopolitical tensions, investors are also watching global monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are expected to deliver at least a quarter-point rate hike this year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Gaza death toll rises as eight killed in Israeli attacks
Gaza’s Health Ministry said hospitals recorded eight Palestinian deaths and 32 injuries in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours.
The latest figures bring the number of Palestinians killed since the “ceasefire” began in October 2025 to 1,108, while 3,578 people have been wounded.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli attacks have killed 73,231 Palestinians and wounded 173,686 others, according to the ministry.
China calls for safe passage through Strait of Hormuz
Beijing has said the Strait of Hormuz is an international navigation route and that restoring free and safe passage is in the interests of all countries.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said navigation through the key waterway should be “properly handled”.
His comments follow a week of reciprocal attacks between the US and Iran amid disagreements over navigation routes in the strait.
Earlier, Iran’s ambassador to Beijing said ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz would face new fees. However, he added that China and other “friendly” nations would receive “special considerations”.
Iran says mediation efforts remain underway
According to a Reuters update citing the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, mediators are still continuing their efforts to mediate between Iran and the United States, even in recent days.