New Delhi:
More than 10 shells hit Iran’s Persian Gulf island of Qeshm in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state media reported today, as hostilities between Tehran and Washington resumed.
“Between Sunday afternoon, Qeshm island was hit by 10 to 11 enemy shells,” Hossein Amir Teymouri, the governor of Qeshm village, told state news agency IRNA, adding that “all targets were military” and that there were no casualties.
The Trump administration views Iran’s assertion of control of the strait as a direct challenge to freedom of the seas, with consequences extending far beyond the region, from the Strait of Malacca to the Bosporus.
Iran and the United States were halfway toward a 60-day interim agreement aimed at permanently ending the war when hostilities resume.
US Central Command said it hit about 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition depots, communications equipment and other sites. The statement said attacks more powerful than in recent days would weaken Iran’s ability to threaten shipping.
“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” President Donald Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Saturday night.
Last week, Iran attacked ships traveling through the strait on the route from Oman, seeking to avoid the Islamic country’s territorial waters.
US Central Command, in a message on X, said the strait was “open to all vessels wishing to legally pass through the international waterway.” It said U.S. forces are “positioned and ready to ensure” freedom of navigation, adding: “Iran does not control the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels wishing to legally pass through the international waterway. U.S. forces are positioned and ready to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, harassment, threats, and abuses… pic.twitter.com/FS3TUBOZEj
— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 12, 2026
Iran’s response to the US strikes was swift, with sirens and explosions heard in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, AFP and local authorities said.
Qatar said Iran’s attacks injured three people and the UAE issued a warning of incoming missiles but later said they did not enter its territory. Kuwait also said it was working to intercept the attack, and Jordan said three Iranian missiles fell into the kingdom. Iranian guards said they also carried out strikes in Oman, which has rarely been attacked.
Muscat summoned the Iranian ambassador and handed him a formal protest, a rare move for the sultanate as it struggles to balance competing demands from Washington and Tehran.
The attack came just hours after the country hosted Iran’s foreign minister to discuss the Strait of Hormuz issue.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed revenge for the killing of his father and predecessor on the first day of the war and said Iran has drawn up a list of people to be targeted.
Based on materials from AFP