U.S. and Iran share mixed messages about Strait of Hormuz as strikes continue

+ and Iran share mixed messages about Strait of Hormuz as strikes continue July 13, 20264:47 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Hadeel Al-Shalchi , Michel Martin U.S.

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+ Sponsor Message Transcript MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The U.S. and Iran continue to vie for control over the Strait of Hormuz, that crucial international waterway.

+ A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: A new wave of U.S. strikes targeted Iranian missile and drone launchers and coastal radar sites late Sunday night. That's according to U.S. Central Command. MARTIN: Iran responded by targeting U.S. bases in the Gulf and Jordan. For the latest, we turn to NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi, who is in Istanbul. Hadeel, good morning. HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning. MARTIN: So it's been almost a week since this back-and-forth of strikes over the Strait of Hormuz started. What is the U.S. government saying about this latest round? AL-SHALCHI: That's right. So U.S. Central Command released a statement late Sunday Eastern time. And they said, quote, "the Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it." U.S. CENTCOM also said that they had hit dozens of Iranian targets at multiple locations with precision munitions, claiming it had degraded Iran's ability to continue attacking international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran did not respond to that claim, but said that one person was killed in the U.S. strikes, and an agricultural water-pumping station was targeted in central Iran, killing a guard. Iranian officials say that brings the total number of deaths to 17 since the recent strikes began. Iran, on the other hand, said Monday it was targeting U.S. bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait. It also targeted Oman over the weekend. Oman, of course, is a mediator in the ceasefire talks. Sirens were sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, and the countries said they were intercepting hostile attacks. MARTIN: Now, you know, Hadeel, Iran and the U.S. are almost at the halfway point of this 60-day interim deal that was meant to take us to talks to end the war permanently. So where are we with those talks? AL-SHALCHI: I mean, honestly, the status of the talks is kind of unknown at this point. A couple of weeks ago, the Qatari foreign minister, who's a mediator, said that they would continue after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral, which ended last week. But that was also before the U.S. and Iran began to trade all of this fire. And then last week, during the NATO summit, President Trump declared the ceasefire over, but then he didn't rule out further talks. And then just now the Iranian foreign minister at a press conference said that Iran is in touch with mediators, including Oman, Qatar and Pakistan. He said that their role was to de-escalate the situation. And then he said, quote, "diplomacy has no day off." Both sides are also making competing claims over the status of the strait, and we're all feeling the consequences. The benchmark global oil price jumped more than 4% when markets opened on Monday. MARTIN: Have we seen or heard from Iran's current leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is, you know, the son of the previous leader? Have we seen or heard from him since this recent exchange of strikes began? AL-SHALCHI: We did not see him publicly, but we did hear from Mojtaba Khamenei. Well, we heard from him through a news anchor who broadcast a message from the current leader on Iranian state TV. He also didn't appear on camera. This was his second audio address to Iranians since the war began. And Mojtaba Khamenei called his father's killers, quote, "criminals" and promised to uphold the legacy of the late supreme leader, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes in February. Let's take a listen. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI: (Speaking Farsi). AL-SHALCHI: "We pledge to take revenge for your pure blood," he said, "and all the martyrs of these two wars." He said it, again, via an anchor. He referred to Iran's war with Israel in June - in 2025 - and the current war with the U.S. and Israel. Iranian officials said Mojtaba Khamenei was injured earlier in the war - that his legs were hurt. But again, his status is unknown because we haven't seen him publicly since he took power in March. MARTIN: That is NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul. Hadeel, thanks. AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. 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