US President Donald Trump makes an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. military carried out a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, in retaliation for its attack on U.S. forces in the region, which sparked tensions after a short period of time.
The US Central Command described the operation as a “strong response” to Tuesday’s attempt to attack Iran by US forces in the Middle East.
The two-hour attack saw the US strike dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets across Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coast guard and defense facilities, and naval forces, Centcom said.
The strikes were aimed at deterring other threats from Iran and its sponsors to US forces, commercial vessels and neighboring Gulf states, he said.
The new strikes come after the Iranian military targeted US forces in the Gulf region with several ballistic missiles late Tuesday, although all were intercepted. The Jordanian military said its air defense intercepted five missiles that came from Iran.
Tuesday’s surprise attack broke Iran’s response to US strikes, showing Tehran’s willingness to resume hostilities, said Seth Krummrich, vice president at security firm Global Guardian and a retired US colonel.
The move suggests Iran intends to “respond forcefully to future US military actions and may walk away from negotiations,” Krummrich said. Critical human infrastructure, including airports, power grids, desalination plants and Gulf energy facilities, could also be targeted, he said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that the protracted conflict poses risks to the wider region.
The resumption of strikes marks the latest twist in a conflict that has disrupted oil markets and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of war in late February. The US suspended two weeks of fire against Iranian targets last weekend, as diplomats sought to give peace talks “some space.”
Trump tweeted his retaliation hours earlier, warning of ordering heavy strikes on Iran. “We’re going to hit them hard. They’re going to get hit,” Trump told a Fox News reporter earlier Wednesday.
Trump’s speech sent Brent crude futures 7.9% higher to close at $90.74 a barrel on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 6.6% to settle at $84.46. Oil was slightly lower in Asian trade on Thursday.
Enemies spread throughout the region. US and Saudi Arabian forces launched joint strikes on Tuesday against Iran-allied forces in Iraq targeting oil fields in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia’s eastern region. Yemen’s Houthis say they have attacked the Saudi pipeline infrastructure that supplies the Red Sea export port of Yanbu.
The scandal came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House for a “productive” 90-minute meeting about the Iran war.
Trump on Wednesday also demanded that lawmakers amend the Russian sanctions bill to give him the authority to impose sanctions on Iran. “I would like them to add tariffs on Iran, not just sanctions,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, according to The Hill. US goods trade with Iran was $60.0 billion in 2025.
‘Cold water’ in rapid decline
Rising tensions are throwing “cold water on the idea of an immediate calm in the Persian Gulf” and dimming prospects for a resumption of talks, said Warren Patterson, head of commodity strategy at ING Bank.
The targeting of Saudi oil infrastructure raises the risk of long-term supply disruptions, Patterson said, citing reports that the kingdom’s 400,000-per-day Jazan refinery had been shut down following a Houthi attack over the weekend.
Tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been successfully stopped. Iran rejected Oman’s proposal to equally divide control of shipping through the sensitive channel, seeking an arrangement that would provide full oversight of incoming traffic and less oversight of outgoing traffic.
Oil cartel OPEC+ is expected to announce a supply increase of 188,000 barrels per day in September at its Aug. 2 meeting, completing the release of 1.65 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts, Patterson said. Once the disruptions are over, additional supply reinforces the outlook for a well-supplied market by 2027.
