Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with an\u00a0interim peace deal<\/a>\u00a0reached last month. The U.S. and others dispute that, citing international law on freedom of navigation, and the American military has tried to establish an alternative route outside of Iranian control.<\/p>\n Iran and the U.S. are nearly halfway through the\u00a060-day<\/a>\u00a0period in which they were supposed to negotiate a permanent end to the war and an agreement on Iran\u2019s disputed nuclear program. Instead, a series of attacks over the strait have raised fears of a return to all-out war and further disruption to the global economy.<\/p>\n Oil prices\u00a0jumped nearly 5%<\/a>\u00a0on Monday before falling back. U.S. benchmark crude, which had risen to nearly $120 a barrel at the height of the war, was trading at around $72.92. Markets were mixed.<\/p>\n A woman stands at the water\u2019s edge along the Strait of Hormuz as a plume of smoke rises in the background following an explosion, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n People swim and spend time along the shore of the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Razieh Poudat\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n Residents check their cellphones as they sit at a cafe overlooking commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Razieh Poudat\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 3<\/p>\n A woman stands at the water\u2019s edge along the Strait of Hormuz as a plume of smoke rises in the background following an explosion, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat\/ISNA via AP)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> The U.S. military said it struck dozens of sites in the strikes Monday, including air defense systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment, and small boats. It said Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The European Union\u2019s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called for the strait to be open, as it was before the war. \u201cFreedom of navigation has to be respected,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mohammed Mokhber, an adviser to Iran\u2019s supreme leader, wrote that Tehran would fight for the strait.<\/p>\n \u201cWe defend it so that in the future, for the passage of our ships, we are not forced to pay tribute to the enemy!\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cRetreating from this vital matter has no place in the mind of any friend of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a key power center in the country\u2019s theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal, said the Strait of Hormuz is \u201cour territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Missile alert sirens sounded three times Monday in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait said it was intercepting hostile fire. There was no immediate word on damage in either country.<\/p>\n In Jordan, the kingdom\u2019s military said it shot down four Iranian missiles in an incident that \u201cresulted in zero casualties or material damage.\u201d Jordan also hosts U.S. military forces and aircraft.<\/p>\n In Iran, authorities reported attacks in Hormozgan, Khuzestan and Markazi provinces and said at least two people were killed, according to state-run IRNA news agency. Semiofficial Iranian media also reported strikes in the eastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, which is on a coast of the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26194329685584-1.jpg?w=620\")
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\nUS says it has struck dozens of targets in Iran<\/p>\n![\"Map](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783959075_838_Iran-US-Tanker-Struck-July-7_86_44_58ec16.jpg\")
Map showing where a tanker was struck in the Strait of Hormuz. (AP Digital Embed)
\nU.S.-allied Arab states report another wave of attacks<\/p>\n