CENTCOM completes its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military sites, while the IRGC declares the Strait of Hormuz closed and warns uncoordinated ships against transit.
Published: Jul 23, 2026, 1:15 AM (GMT+3)
Updated: 6:31
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early Thursday morning that US forces began launching more strikes against Iranian military targets, marking the twelfth night in a row of such strikes.
“The mission will continue to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” it said.
Prior to the official announcement, explosions were reported in several areas across Iran, including in Bandar Mahshahr and Sirik.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a direct threat to the United States, declaring that the Strait of Hormuz is under its full control and “completely closed” as long as American military operations in the region continue. In their statement, the IRGC clarified that no oil tankers will be permitted to pass, enter, or exit through the strait without prior coordination with Iranian authorities.
Additionally, the IRGC reported that an oil tanker caught fire following an explosion when it attempted to navigate a “mined channel” south of the Strait of Hormuz, and that two other oil tankers turned back and aborted their routes. The Iranian statement did not specify the names of the vessels involved or the exact timing of the incidents.
Later, Iran’s Fars news agency reported a new wave of US strikes targeting a military site in the city of Bushehr, located in southwestern Iran.
Iranian media also reported, citing a security source, that two people were killed in a strike conducted by US forces in the area of the Shalamcheh border crossing.
The crossing is located in southwestern Iran, on the border with Iraq, and serves as a strategic point in the region.
The US strikes came shortly after US President Donald Trump said that Iran wants to make a deal with Washington, but is not yet ready for one.
“They’re getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal – but I say they’re not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal they want to change it and everything. They’re not ready,” Trump told a rally in Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday afternoon.
The President stated that the US is “winning in the Islamic Republic of Iran and we are ensuring that they will never ever be able to do to us what they have done to so many.”
“They’ve killed 52,000 plus protesters. People that were protesting have been killed over the last four months. Nobody wants to talk about it,” he added.
The President stated that the US is “winning in the Islamic Republic of Iran and we are ensuring that they will never ever be able to do to us what they have done to so many.”
Prior to the Georgia rally, Trump threatened a further escalation against Iran, warning that the US would begin blowing up Iranian bridges and power plants if Iran does not cease its attacks on international shipping.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
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