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A US Navy fighter jet aboard the top deck of the USS George H.W. Bush in the Arabian Sea, published July 15, 2026; illustrative. (photo credit: X/CENTCOM) The US struck  Iran's  coastal defenses and missile sites on Wednesday after reimposing a naval blockade of its ports, while Iran threatened to shut off more regional energy exports, saying it was engaged in an "existential war" with America. The latest escalation comes days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, though analysts generally see that as less likely. Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high at $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday.

US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) speaks to the press as he exits a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington. (photo credit: REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo) The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off  aid to Israel  on Wednesday, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over the war in  Gaza . The House voted 314 to 104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. However, 103 Democrats and one Republican backed it, a sharp departure from years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously. Left-wing Democrats are pushing to end US aid to Israel as they campaign in midterm election primaries, while moderate Democrats promote sending money that would be used for defensive weapons only.

A drone is seen during a suspected drone strike targeting an oil warehouse on the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region. (photo credit: Gailan Haji/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says that it targeted a gathering of US soldiers at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait early Thursday morning, according to Iranian state media. State media also reported that the IRGC targeted early-warning radar systems at the air base in a dual missile and drone attack. US military communication systems and fuel storage tanks were also reportedly targeted at Azraq base in Jordan.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine hold a briefing amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington. (photo credit: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense  Pete Hegseth , he confirmed in a statement on Thursday. Hegseth briefed  Katz  on US military operations in Iran, and the two agreed to continue cooperation between the countries in response to any possible developments. Katz briefed Hegseth on Israel’s operations against terrorist groups in  Syria , Gaza, and Lebanon.

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 18, 2026 (photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER) The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced. The strikes are aimed at reducing Iran's military capabilities, specifically in attacks against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM said.  The US fired strikes at Iran again, aiming to incapacitate some of the military forces used to attack the Strait of Hormuz.

The Epaminondas ship is seen during seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, in this image obtained by Reuters on April 24, 2026. (photo credit: Meysam Mirzadeh/Tasnim/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS) The United States’s  blockade of the Strait of Hormuz  can be legal, even if the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) demands unimpeded passage through the vital waterway, so long as it respects the terms of the San Remo Manual, Adv. Yoav Harris of Harris & Co. Maritime Law Office explained to  The Jerusalem Post  on Wednesday. The manual demands that belligerents and neutral states be made fully aware of  the blockade , that the blockade be effective, that it be enforced impartially against vessels from all nations, that it not be established for the sole purpose of starving civilians, and that humanitarian relief be allowed to reach the civilian population if it is inadequately pr...