The preliminary ceasefire between the United States and Iran has collapsed. US Central Command initiated a sixth consecutive night of military strikes against Iranian targets beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on July 16, 2026. The renewed conflict effectively shatters the memorandum of understanding signed nearly a month ago to end the hostilities that first erupted in late February.
The White House stated the current strikes were directly triggered by Iranian forces firing on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. That action violated the core terms of the recent agreement. The US has since reimposed its naval blockade.
The target list is expanding. Early on July 17, Iranian state media reported explosions at multiple critical sites across the country. The locations included the Gulf island of Qeshm, the airport in Iranshahr, a bridge in Bandar Khamir, and a railway junction in Bandar Abbas. Explosions were also reported in Bushehr, a city that houses Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed to have immediately countered the operation by striking US military bases in the region. The IRGC specifically stated they targeted the Azraq Air Base in Jordan, the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and the US military pier at Shuaybah, as outlined by The Guardian, which verifies the Iranian army’s retaliatory claims of targeting US military facilities in Jordan and reports of explosions in multiple Iranian cities.
The IRGC has warned that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as a countermeasure. Iranian officials declared that regional energy exports would be “for everyone or for no one,” verifying the expansion of US strikes into new areas and Iran’s threats regarding the Strait of Hormuz being an invincible red line.
Former US President Donald Trump publicly entered the discourse, threatening to widen the scope of attacks to directly hit Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran does not return to the negotiating table.