U.S. airstrikes hit northern Iran as it disables ship trying to run blockade

The United States intensified its strikes targeting Iran early on Thursday (July 16, 2026), hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait before dawn.

Also read: West Asia war updates on July 16, 2026

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across West Asia — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded more than 300 others. Strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, for the first time of this latest round of violence.

When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic — a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations.

U.S. completes new round of strikes

The U.S. military said it completed an evening wave of strikes against Iran, in which it targeted command centres, air defence sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities.

The U.S. Central Command said on X the strikes aimed “to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten innocent mariners crewing commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

The military said it struck targets in multiple locations, including Bandar Abbas. In an earlier attack, CENTCOM said U.S. forces struck coastal defence and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave.

“The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the commander-in-chief’s direction,” it added

U.S. targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan hit

Iranian state media reported that the Iranian military carried out separate drone attacks on U.S. bases and facilities in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.

The Army said it targeted the “communication systems and fuel storage facilities of the U.S. military” in Jordan.

Separately, the military said it struck “radar systems, a Patriot air defence system, and fuel storage facilities at Ali Al Salem Air Base” in Kuwait and U.S. military facilities at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, IRIB reported.

Kuwait’s military said it intercepted “drone attacks following the nefarious Iranian aggression”, and Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.

(With AP, AFP inputs)