Iran, Gulf hit as Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb close: What’s the latest?

What Happened

In the eleventh consecutive night of U.S. strikes on Iran, CENTCOM said it targeted military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage, and logistics infrastructure at sites across Khuzestan, East Azerbaijan (Tabriz), Sistan and Baluchestan (Chabahar and Konarak), Hamadan (Kabudarahang), Ilam (Chavar and Abdanan), and Kurdistan provinces, concluding at 00:15 GMT Wednesday. The strikes aimed to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with CENTCOM claiming Iran had attacked over 30 vessels in three months. In retaliation, the IRGC said it continued its ‘operation to punish the aggressor’ and launched drone attacks on U.S. military facilities: Camp Doha in Kuwait, Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan, and Isa Airbase in Bahrain, according to Iranian state-linked Tasnim and Mehr agencies. Separately, Yemen’s Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, causing two Saudi crude oil tankers bound for Asia to turn around in the Red Sea, effectively closing the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The U.S. Department of Defense reported a third soldier killed in the July 17 Iranian strike on the Jordan base, bringing total U.S. military deaths to 18 since the war began on February 28.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The simultaneous escalation of U.S.-Iran direct military exchanges across Iranian territory and U.S. regional bases, combined with the Houthi closure of the Bab al-Mandeb, threatens two of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints—the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea—endangering global energy trade and supply chains. Rising U.S. casualties and spiraling costs intensify domestic pressure on the U.S. administration, while Iran’s use of drone strikes on multiple Gulf bases signals a broadening of its retaliatory reach.

Watch For

Continued nightly U.S. strikes as per the 11-day pattern; IRGC follow-up attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf; Houthi enforcement of the blockade and possible Saudi or international naval countermeasures; diplomatic signals from Secretary Rubio’s statement of openness to negotiations; and Congressional deliberation on the $67bn supplemental funding request.