The United States and Iran entered a third consecutive night of direct military exchanges this week, with Washington striking Iranian coastal cities while Tehran retaliated against oil tankers and American bases across the Gulf. The escalation marks a dramatic departure from the relative calm that had held since the 2020 assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, and it is reshaping the strategic landscape of the Middle East in real time. Main Developments US Central Command announced that its latest strikes began at 4:45pm ET on Monday and lasted five hours, targeting military infrastructure across Iran. CENTCOM said it successfully struck locations including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas, with the stated aim of degrading Iran’s ability to attack “innocent civilians and commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television and semi-official news agencies reported explosions throughout the night along the southern coast, particularly in Bandar Abbas and on Kish and Qeshm islands, as well as the town of Jam in Bushehr province. A projectile that struck western Bandar Abbas caused no casualties, according to the Fars news agency, which cited the regional governor’s office. Read also: Why France's Fontainebleau fire signals a hotter new normal Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a wider retaliatory campaign against US allies and interests across the Gulf. Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian forces struck several “violating” vessels in the strait and shot down a US-made drone near Bandar Abbas. The UAE confirmed that two of its oil tankers were hit by Iranian cruise missiles in Omani waters, killing one Indian national crew member and wounding eight others. The Iranian army said it carried out a drone attack on US military targets in Kuwait, including a Patriot missile system, fuel tanks, a watchtower, an ammunition depot, and communication systems. The IRGC separately claimed it struck weapons storage depots, a satellite communications center, and a building housing US forces at al-Juffair Base in Bahrain, as well as the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with missiles and drones. Air sirens sounded four times in Bahrain on Tuesday. Background President Donald Trump formally notified Congress on July 10 that fighting with Iran had resumed on July 7, invoking his authority to keep US forces in combat for another 60 days without lawmakers’ approval. That notification followed the reimposition of a naval blockade on Iran’s ports and terminals along the entire southern coastline, confirmed by the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Centre. The blockade, which is due to begin at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, covers all Iranian ports from Bushehr to Chah Bahar and is designed to interdict what Washington describes as Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping. The move echoes the tanker war of the 1980s, when both sides attacked oil vessels in the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq conflict. At a news conference on Monday, Trump said Iran’s offensive capabilities were being dismantled but insisted a “deal is possible” despite the return to open fighting. He also repeated a demand that Gulf nations help cover the cost of protecting shipping, saying Washington was “protecting a very rich portion of the world” and expected to be paid for it. Why It Matters The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil chokepoint, with about a fifth of global petroleum consumption passing through its narrow waters each day. Ship-tracking firm Kpler reported that crossings through the strait fell by about 52 percent between July 10 and July 12 compared with the previous week, a collapse that has already sent oil prices surging. Brent crude climbed more than 9 percent on Monday to about $81 a barrel, its highest level since mid-June. Each additional dollar on the price of oil feeds directly into inflation calculations for central banks around the world, complicating efforts to bring interest rates down and raising the cost of everything from gasoline to plastics for consumers globally. Iran’s parliament formally introduced a bill titled “Strategic Action for the Security and Sustainable Progress of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf,” signaling Tehran’s intent to assert control over the waterway. Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee, wrote on X that Iran “remains steadfast in defending our red lines, particularly regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz.” What's Next The US blockade is scheduled to take effect at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, setting up a direct confrontation between American naval forces and Iranian patrol boats in the strait. Any attempt by Iran to challenge the blockade with small boats or anti-ship missiles could trigger a broader naval engagement that neither side has experienced since the 1988 Operation Praying Mantis. Trump has threatened to “take out” Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, also known as Pickaxe Mountain, a