Iran war live: US and Iran exchange deadly attacks for 7th night

Live updates,

This article was published on 18 July 2026.

The United States and Iran have been engaged in a series of escalating military actions over the past week, including airstrikes and a naval blockade.

• US Central Command says it has completed its seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, employing “fighter aircraft, aerial drones and warships” to hit the country’s “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities”.
• The southern cities of Jask, Sirik, Bushehr and Bandar Abbas have reportedly been targeted, along with Qeshm Island and the central city of Yazd.

17 Updates

• 37s ago

   (02:00 GMT)

  Hormuz traffic falls to three week low

  The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to the lowest level in three weeks, amid renewed fighting between the US and Iran, according to tracking site MarineTraffic.

  On Thursday, only eight ships were recorded crossing the monitored portion of the Strait of Hormuz, MarineTraffic reported, noting that this was “down from 15 a day earlier.”

  “Seven of the eight transits followed the Iranian route, with no crossings via the Omani route and no shadow fleet movements recorded,” MarineTraffic added.

  

• 10m ago

   (01:49 GMT)

  

  US military completes seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran

  US Central Command (CENTCOM) says the US military has completed its seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran.

  The command said that “US forces employed fighter aircraft, aerial drones, and warships, in addition to other assets, to hit surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities”.

  The statement said the strikes concluded at 9:30pm Eastern Time on July 17 (01:30 GMT, July 18).

  “CENTCOM continues to hold Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction while fully enforcing a naval blockade against Iranian ports,” the statement continued.

  “More than 50,000 American service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready,” it added.

• 15m ago

   (01:45 GMT)

  Local officials warn people to avoid unnecessary travel in Iran’s Hormozgan

  Authorities in Iran's southern Hormozgan governorate have advised residents to avoid nonessential road travel, citing the risk of fresh attacks, according to the Tasnim news agency.

  Local authorities are working to assess conditions and create alternative routes, the governorate added.

  As we’ve been reporting, US attacks have targeted several bridges across Hormozgan over the past two nights, with three people killed in the early hours of Saturday.

• 27m ago

   (01:32 GMT)

  

  Air raid sirens sound again in Bahrain

  Warning sirens are blaring in Bahrain for the second time in a matter of hours, prompting authorities to urge residents to seek shelter immediately.

  We will bring you more updates as information emerges.

• 30m ago

   (01:30 GMT)

  EU urges Israel to halt settlement expansion as settlers attack children

  The European Union has renewed its call on Israel to halt the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning that continued construction and other unilateral measures threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.

  An EU spokesperson on Friday urged Israel to stop the legalisation of settlement outposts, land appropriation, demolitions, forced evictions of Palestinians, and other actions that “undermine the viability of the two-state solution”.

  The statement came days after Israel’s security cabinet approved the allocation of 1.3 billion shekels ($427.8m) to establish 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

  The renewed diplomatic pressure comes amid continuing violence in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians, including children, have been injured in incidents involving Israeli settlers and Israeli forces.

  You can read more here.

• 45m ago

   (01:15 GMT)

  WATCH: Israel, Gaza and the future of US power

  The United States’ alliance with Israel has become the defining test of its global credibility.

  Fresh from a visit to the occupied West Bank, US Congressman Ro Khanna joins Sreenivasan Jain to debate whether real change is possible in a US-led system that has long placed power above principle.

• 1h ago

   (01:00 GMT)

  

  What do we know about sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz?

  • The IRGC has said that two oil tankers exploded after trying to pass through minefields in the southern Strait of Hormuz, a claim the US military has denied.
  • Naval mines are underwater explosives designed to damage or sink ships.
  • Back in April, the IRGC provided a map showing an approved passage through the Strait of Hormuz due to “the likelihood of the presence of various types of antiship mines in the main traffic zone”.
  • This has meant that ships wanting to avoid the potential risk of mines in southern waters closer to Oman have had to pass through routes to the north, closer to Iran.
  • Under the agreement reached between the US and Iran last month, which has now broken down, Iran had agreed to remove mines from the waterway.

  

• 1h ago

   (00:45 GMT)

  ‘Some ships are getting through’ the Strait of Hormuz, but in ‘very limited numbers’

  Reporting from Wahington, DC, United States

  CENTCOM says that one of those routes to the Strait of Hormuz remains open, and ships are passing through it.

  Now, part of the confusion in all of this is that basically the US appears to be protecting one of the routes through the Strait of Hormuz, and that is the one along the Omani coast, whereas Iran appears to be controlling the route closest to the Iranian coast.

  Those ships that have been passing through the strait appear to be taking that route protected, the US says, by its vessels. So, it would appear that some ships are getting through, but very limited numbers, indeed.

  Remembering that the US is attempting to protect shipping through that Omani route, at the same time as enforcing a blockade of the Iranian route, obviously a massive strain on its military or naval resources.

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• 1h ago

   (00:35 GMT)

  Iran says military drones targeted US bases in Kuwait and Jordan

  Iran’s military says that its forces have launched drone strikes targeting several US military infrastructure sites in Kuwait and Jordan, according to the Tasnim news agency.

  According to the statement, the targeted locations include:

  • Camp Udairi (Kuwait): An ammunition depot.
  • Ali Al Salem Base (Kuwait): Headquarters buildings, ammunition depots, and nearby connecting bridges.
  •  Muwaffaq Salti/Al Azraq Air Base (Jordan): Military fuel tanks.

  The military warned, according to the report, that any power attempting to test the will of the Iranian nation will face the iron resolve and readiness of its armed forces.

• 1h ago

   (00:30 GMT)

  US air strikes intensify, with three killed in Hormozgan

  Reporting from Tehran, Iran

  The US air strikes have intensified compared with earlier hours, with explosions reported in the central city of Yazd and the southern cities of Lar, Ahvaz, Sirik, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas and Darab.

  Qeshm Island has also seen explosions for another consecutive night.

  Local authorities in Hormozgan province say US air strikes targeted two bridges and one tunnel in the province.

  The deputy governor of Hormozgan said three people were killed and eight others injured in “enemy” attacks on several locations across the province in the early hours of Saturday.

  The IRGC says an MQ-9 drone was tracked and shot down over Bushehr by the IRGC Navy’s newly deployed advanced air defence system.

  The Iranian Navy says it targeted a hostile US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean with a shore-to-sea cruise missile.

  The IRGC has also confirmed carrying out attacks on US military assets in Bahrain.

  In another statement, the IRGC says four noncompliant vessels, backed by the US military, attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz and were stopped in place during a combined missile and drone operation.

  In a separate statement, the IRGC says two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz.

• 1h ago

   (00:24 GMT)

  

  Kuwait says responding to Iranian drone attacks

  The Kuwaiti Defence Ministry says it is responding to Iranian drone attacks, adding that loud sounds heard across the country were due to interceptions.

  We will bring you more updates as information emerges.

• 1h ago

   (00:24 GMT)

  

  US military says IRGC’s claim that oil tankers exploded is ‘false’

  The US military’s Central Command has refuted the IRGC’s “claims that two oil tankers have exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines in the international waterway”.

  “Like most IRGC claims, this is false,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

  🚫 CLAIM: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims that two oil tankers have exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines in the international waterway.

  ✅ FACT: Like most IRGC claims, this is false. pic.twitter.com/hgdwnc7Kos

  — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 18, 2026

• 1h ago

   (00:20 GMT)

  Missile hits maritime control tower on Iran’s Larak Island, Tasnim says

  Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that a missile hit the maritime navigation control tower on Larak Island in southern Iran.

  No official details regarding the extent of the damage have been released by local authorities yet, according to the Tasnim report.

• 1h ago

   (00:15 GMT)

  Iran says its missiles struck US fighter jets in Jordan

  Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they targeted US fighter jets stationed in Jordan.

  The Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian missiles successfully hit the Muwaffaq Salti airbase.

  Arab media said the sound of explosions at US bases in Jordan was loud enough to be heard in the occupied Palestinian territory.

• 1h ago

   (00:07 GMT)

  WATCH: The US-Iran conflict escalates

  There are no signs of de-escalation as the US strikes further inside Iran and Tehran responds by targeting Washington’s military assets in the region.

  So what will it take to get them back to the negotiating table?

  Watch Al Jazeera’s Inside Story to find out more:

• 1h ago

   (00:03 GMT)

  A recap of recent developments

  • At least three people were killed in US attacks on Iran’s Hormozgan, as US forces continued attacks on southern Iran and expanded them to central areas.
  • Two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through minefields in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported.
  • Iran continued attacks on Gulf countries, including Kuwait, where the military said several of its personnel were injured.
  • An Israeli attack on a funeral killed at least seven Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip.
  • UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned “unacceptable” attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and elsewhere in the Gulf, according to his spokesman.
  • Satellite imagery showed new damage inside Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant complex.

• 2h ago

   (00:00 GMT)

  Welcome to our coverage

  Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran, as well as Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

  Stay with us for the latest news and analyses from across the Middle East and beyond.

  You can find our updates from Friday, July 17, here.

The significant drop in vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reflects the immediate consequences of the US naval blockade and ongoing strikes. With over 50,000 American service members deployed in the region, the situation remains tense. Local alerts in Iran's Hormozgan province indicate that further attacks are anticipated, raising concerns about broader regional instability.