US military launches new strikes on Iran as clashes escalate over
shipping routes
[July 24, 2026]
By ELENA BECATOROS, FATMA KHALED and COLLIN BINKLEY
CAIRO (AP) — The U.S. military launched the 13th night of strikes
Thursday against Iran, targeting key military and commercial sites as
clashes continued to escalate over shipping routes. The attacks came
after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted two Saudi oil
tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as
international oil topped $100 a barrel.
Shortly after the new attacks were announced, Iranian state media
reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a critical hub for
moving military supplies as well as trade cargo, where two people were
reportedly injured.
Blasts were also reported on Qeshm Island, home to stores of naval
assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels on the
Strait of Hormuz, as well as to the northwest near Andimeshk, Omidiyeh
and Firuzabad. Four people were killed and five wounded in a U.S.
missile attack on the outskirts of Ahvaz on the Karun River, Iranian
state media said.
U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further
degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial
vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to regain
control over the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s
oil and gas transited in peacetime. It said the strikes ended shortly
before 5 a.m. local time Friday.
Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down another key trade route,
with the world economy already reeling from Iran's closure of the Strait
of Hormuz. Iran and the U.S. have stepped up attacks as they vie for
control of the strait, setting off a scramble for alternative routes.
President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against
the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue.
“If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the
Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military
punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis,
themselves,” Trump wrote on social media.
As the rhetoric escalated, so did the economic fallout. The price of
Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked more than 6% to
about $100 a barrel. That's the highest level since May, before the two
sides reached a preliminary peace agreement last month that has since
collapsed.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties to both the
U.S. and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue,
and he promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on
Iran, his office said. Al-Zaidi met with Trump earlier this month in
Washington.
Houthi attacks are a ‘double whammy’ on oil shipments
The Houthis' SABA news agency said the rebels had struck two tankers,
the Encelia and the Layla, in the Red Sea, causing fires on both. There
were no reports of casualties.
It was the first reported Houthi attack on a vessel since they announced
a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
earlier this week in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and
a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held
capital, Sanaa.
Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital
shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around
12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container
traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia via
Egypt’s Suez Canal.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported an attack set the Encelia
ablaze overnight in the Red Sea. It did not mention the Layla.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said it received a
report of a tanker being struck by “an unknown projectile” 130
kilometers (80 miles) southwest of Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, in the Red
Sea.
The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu
port on the Red Sea and present a “double whammy” on top of the
disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, said maritime data and analysis firm
Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
[to top of second column]
|
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Iraq's
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, center, reviews an honor guard as he is
welcomed by the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, left, during
his official welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 22,
2026. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels a day of oil exports
to Yanbu via an overland pipeline as the war has bottled up the
Persian Gulf.
The Houthi threat “raises questions on the viability of this route,”
Lloyd’s said in slides accompanying an online webinar Thursday.
Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge
fees in the Strait of Hormuz, which was open to all toll-free before
the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that
is overseen by U.S. forces and intended to be outside Tehran’s
control.
Trump said on social media Thursday that sanctioned Iranian funds in
the possession of the U.S. will cover the expense of fixing boats
damaged in the war.
“Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice,
that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships,
Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian
Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,”
Trump said.
It was unclear what legal mechanisms Trump would use to seize and
spend the funds, but he said that doing so would be “the fair and
equitable thing to do.”
Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said such a seizure
of assets would be an “incendiary” precedent.
"Those who celebrate or profit from such funds should remember: once
governments normalize confiscation, no one’s assets are safe," Abbas
Araghchi said on social media early Friday. “Ensuing chaos will not
be pretty or peaceful.”
In response to Iran’s attacks, the U.S. began the widening campaign
of strikes across Iran and restored a naval blockade of Iran's
ports. U.S. Central Command said it has redirected about a dozen
commercial vessels and disabled one since the blockade resumed.
The war of words has also escalated. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi said Tehran would adopt an “eye for an eye” policy on U.S.
strikes against its infrastructure. U.S. Secretary of State Marco
Rubio retorted that Trump's policy is “a head for an eye.”
“The price will continue to get higher every single night until they
come to their senses,” Rubio told reporters while traveling in the
Philippines for a regional summit.
Iran’s health ministry said Thursday that 55 people have been killed
and 629 have been wounded since renewed U.S. airstrikes began on
June 27.
Iran has responded to U.S. attacks by targeting energy
infrastructure and desalination plants providing drinking water in
parched neighboring Gulf countries.
Polls have shown the war is unpopular among Americans, a fact
reflected in the narrow passage Thursday of a resolution in the U.S.
House to halt the war. Though a handful of Republicans crossed party
lines to support the measure, the vote remained largely symbolic.
___
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece, and Binkley from Washington.
Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Bassem
Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price and Jim Gomez in Manila,
Philippines; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Konstantin Toropin and
Matthew Lee in Washington; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles
contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
