Author: M Barbu

Key Takeaways

The United States has continued to strike Iranian military targets, including some targets further inland. Iranian regime media reported on July 15 that US forces struck the Artesh Ground Forces 388th Mechanized Assault Brigade barracks in Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchistan Province. This strike is notable given that the 388th Brigade is located around 200 kilometers from the Iranian coast, while most US airstrikes in July have been concentrated around Iran’s southern coast. The Artesh has conducted operations throughout the war and most recently claimed on July 15 that it conducted drone strikes targeting US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Azraq, Jordan.

Iraqi media reported on July 15 that an unknown actor launched six drones targeting Erbil International Airport and the US Consulate in Erbil, Erbil Province. It is unclear whether Iran or Iranian-backed Iraqi militias conducted this attack.

Iran is attacking vessels that have adopted alternative mechanisms to bypass Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran attacked three vessels in the strait on July 13, two of which were doing “shuttle runs,” or repeated short trips to ports outside the strait in order to transport oil through the strait while avoiding Iranian territorial waters.

Iran’s attacks on shipping are having some success in deterring shipping companies from using routes outside Iran’s illegal traffic separation scheme, which advances Iran’s objective of securing control over the strait. Seven maritime security and shipping industry sources told Reuters on July 15 that shipping companies are avoiding using the southern route despite US military escorts, highlighting how shipping companies’ willingness to use alternative routes in the strait is dependent on their risk calculations.

On July 13, 2026, the Yemeni Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out an airstrike targeting Sanaa International Airport, describing the alleged attack as a “dangerous escalation” aimed at preventing a Houthi delegation from returning to Yemen.

Amid the military escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in recent days,[1] Yemeni journalist Hani Salem Mashour published an article in the London-based Emirati daily Al-Arab in which he held Saudi Arabia responsible for the situation. He argued that Riyadh’s conciliatory policy toward the Houthis over the past two decades enabled them to grow stronger and deepen their ties with Iran. As a result, they became a major military force that can now threaten international shipping, strike deep inside Saudi Arabia, and even confront the U.S. directly. Mashour added that the Houthis are now a reality and can no longer be defeated through military means alone. Therefore, efforts should focus on containing their expansion beyond Yemen’s borders and weakening their ties to Iran—similar to the strategy currently being pursued against Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) militias in Iraq.

Téhéran ferme le détroit d’Ormuz à coups de missiles en réponse à l’ultimatum américain… et le commandement de l’armée libanaise coupe les lignes de communication avec la Résistance.

L’ultimatum américain de 24 heures exigeant une déclaration iranienne garantissant la liberté de navigation s’est effondré. Washington a reçu sa réponse sous forme d’une frappe directe qui a touché un navire commercial, suivie d’une annonce officielle du nouveau commandant de la marine des Gardiens de la révolution islamique (CGRI) fermant le détroit d’Ormuz jusqu’à nouvel ordre. Cet épisode maritime coïncide avec un message écrit décisif de Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, ordonnant une riposte existentielle irréversible, ainsi que l’exposition de l’échec des systèmes de défense américains en Jordanie. Sur la scène libanaise, les autorités politiques et militaires prennent des mesures sans précédent pour isoler la Résistance en interne, en alignement avec les désirs américains et israéliens tandis que l’armée d’occupation poursuit sa politique de terre brûlée dans le sud du Liban.