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US attacks Iran over ship being hit in Strait of Hormuz; Tehran lashes out again at Gulf Arab states

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− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics US attacks Iran over ship being hit in Strait of Hormuz; Tehran lashes out again at Gulf Arab states The United States attacked Iran early Sunday morning over an Iranian attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics U.S.
− Iran apparently responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
+ launches fresh strikes on Iran as Tehran says it has closed Strait of Hormuz The U.S.
− Middle East US attacks Iran over ship being hit in Strait of Hormuz; Tehran lashes out again at Gulf Arab states July 11, 20269:32 PM ET By The Associated Press A man holds a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a gathering commemorating him at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026.
+ and Iran have been exchanging strikes, with the U.S.
− Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States attacked Iran early Sunday morning over an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz that set the container ship ablaze and forced its crew to abandon it.
+ military saying it hit 140 targets in Iran overnight, while Iran said it responded with fire toward Jordan and other Gulf states.
− Iran apparently responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The strait has become the key sticking point in any further negotiations between Iran and the United States to find a permanent end to the war that began back on Feb.
+ Middle East U.S.
− 28.
+ launches fresh strikes on Iran as Tehran says it has closed Strait of Hormuz Updated July 12, 20269:54 AM ET Originally published July 11, 20269:32 PM ET By NPR Staff A man holds a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a gathering commemorating him at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026.
− About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began.
+ Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption The U.S.
− Iran's grip on it during the war led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
+ and Iran have exchanged fire for the third weekend in a row, days after President Trump declared that the ceasefire between the two countries was "over." The latest back-and-forth strikes began after Iran fired at a ship attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S.
− military's Central Command said it hit some 140 targets in the strikes, far more than the last two round, and went after missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites.
+ then retaliated, striking multiple sites in Iran.
− The attacks "degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait," it said. The new crossfire in the Persian Gulf comes days after U.S.
+ Middle East U.S.
− President Donald Trump suggested an interim deal in the Iran war was "over." U.S.
+ and Iran exchange intensifying fire across Mideast, threatening ceasefire deal In a statement reported by state media, Iran's navy said it fired warning shots that hit the container vessel after "several ships attempted to travel along an unapproved route" through the waterway, which is a vital global trade route.
− Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online: "Iran made a poor choice.
+ The U.S.
− Now they pay." The United Arab Emirates warned the public Sunday of an incoming missile and drone attack as explosions could be heard in nearby Qatar.
+ Central Command said the Iranian shots led to one civilian crew member going missing, and the vessel abandoning its journey thanks to an "onboard fire and significant engine room damage." Hours later, in a post on X, Central Command said it completed a third round of strikes overnight – hitting 140 targets – to hold "Iranian forces accountable for its attack on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz." "During three nights of strikes this week, CENTCOM has struck more than 300 targets at the direction of the Commander in Chief to degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait," it added.
− A missile alert sounded in Qatar shortly after the blasts.
+ "Commercial vessel transits through the vital international maritime corridor continue." On Saturday night, U.S.
− Qatar's military said in a statement it intercepted the incoming Iranian fire. Meanwhile, missile alerts sounded in Bahrain, an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf home to the U.S.
+ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media, "Iran made a poor choice.
− Navy's 5th Fleet. It wasn't immediately clear what locations were under attack in the UAE, which so far hadn't been targeted in the latest round of attacks by Iran.
+ Now they pay." On Sunday, Iran said it responded with fire toward Jordan and other Gulf states.
− The latest attack on the Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, came in May when a drone sparked a fire on the edge of the country's sole nuclear power plant.
+ The United Arab Emirates and Qatari officials later reported intercepting incoming missile attacks.
− In the Strait of Hormuz attack, a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iran and suffered "significant engineroom damage" and a civilian crew member is missing, U.S.
+ This latest round of strikes started Wednesday.
− Central Command said.
+ Hours after three merchant ships were hit in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military launched new strikes against Iran.
− The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, overseen by the British military, said the ship had been traveling in a route hugging the shoreline of Oman.
+ The U.S.
− That's been the way ships have gotten in and out of the Persian Gulf while avoiding Iranian territorial waters.
+ has urged ships to use a southern route through the strait that hugs the coast of Oman.
− The ship's crew abandoned the vessel as it was ablaze, the center said.
+ Iran has said this violates the memorandum of understanding signed last month between Iran and the United States.
− Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said multiple vessels "disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route." One of them "was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop." Iran said that the strait would remain closed "until further notice" and said it would consider targeting "additional enemy bases in the region" if it faced more attacks. The U.S.
+ In turn, the U.S.
− attacks on Iran apparently targeted Bandar Abbas and Sirik, as well as other areas, along the shores of the strait, Iran state media reported.
+ has also accused Iran of breaching the memorandum, saying in a statement: "Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed." The confusion over the memorandum comes alongside competing claims over whether the Strait of Hormuz is open.
− Iran offered no immediate information about casualties or damage.
+ Following the exchange of strikes, Iran said it was closing off the strait completely and not allowing any vessels to transit. However, the U.S. Central Command said on Sunday that the strait was open.
− The latest violence followed Iran and Oman's foreign ministers meeting on Saturday to discuss the strait, after days of Iranian attacks on ships and U.S.
+ A pro-government demonstrator waves an Iranian flag in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a square in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 11, 2026.
− retaliation that dealt a blow to the interim deal to end the war.
+ Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption On Saturday, Iran had wrapped up talks with Oman on how to manage the strait.
− The narrow strait sits in both Iran and Oman's territorial waters, but long has been considered an international waterway.
+ A day later, the sultanate's news agency reported Iranian drones had struck some sites in Oman.
− Oman said it and Iran agreed to keep talking about the Strait of Hormuz "at the technical and political levels." However, Iran offered no statement about the strait being open to all — something sought by the Trump administration.
+ In response to the latest hostilities, regional mediators in Pakistan and Oman have urged diplomacy. Posting on social media on Sunday, Pakistan's deputy foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said he had told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that "dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path to resolving disputes." But top Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X: "The era of one-sided deals is OVER" and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later said it had again fired on a ship trying to get through the Strait.
− Iran's new supreme leader, still unseen since the war began, also vowed in his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Iranians would avenge his killing in the war's opening strikes on Feb.
+ Middle East Dayslong funeral for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei begins in Tehran The Iranian strikes follow a defiant message from Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who delivered an address after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried.
− 28.
+ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in February.
− Such revenge "is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement carried on state televisions.
+ "We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers," the new Ayatollah was quoted as saying.
− U.S.
+ Meanwhile, with tensions high in the region, California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna raised concerns when he said he was threatened by Israeli settlers during a recent visit to the Occupied West Bank. Khanna said Israeli soldiers aided the attackers and blocked him from leaving.
− officials, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity about the current situation with Iran, said the resumption of strikes even before the latest round came as a result of what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners who were trying to sabotage the ceasefire.
+ Posting on social media after returning to the U.S., Khanna condemned what he saw on a visit to the West Bank, including attacks on Palestinians and their villages by Israeli settlers.
− Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified under the new supreme leader.
+ Middle East conflict In a West Bank cave, Israelis and Palestinians hold an out-of-the-ordinary lunch Khanna, who says he's considering a 2028 presidential run, described feeling helpless for 90 minutes when Israeli soldiers arrived and didn't assist him.
− After the U.S. wrapped up strikes on Thursday, more attacks reportedly hit Iran, raising questions about who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.
+ In a statement, Israel's military told NPR that soldiers did not block the congressman's exit.
− Israel didn't claim them, meaning the Gulf Arab states may have launched them, likely as a means to deter Iran from attacking them again. Iran on Thursday retaliated for U.S. strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.
+ According to the United Nations, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the past two years due to Israeli military action and settler violence.
− The strikes in Iran over two rounds of strikes last week killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.
+ NPR's Carrie Kahn and Emily Feng in Tel Aviv, Nuha Musleh in Ramallah, Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul, and Robbie Griffiths in London contributed to this report.
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