US strikes IRGC positions as forces prepare to launch sea mines into Strait of Hormuz

US military forces struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps positions in the Strait of Hormuz after IRGC forces were observed preparing to launch rockets armed with sea mines toward the critical waterway, according to Axios.

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through it on any given day.

A pattern of escalation

This latest strike fits into a broader campaign that began on June 26, 2026, when US forces targeted over 80 Iranian military assets in the strait. That operation came in direct response to Iranian drone attacks on commercial shipping vessels between June 25 and 27, including the Singapore-flagged M/V Ever Lovely and the Panama-flagged tanker Kiku.

US Central Command framed the strikes as necessary for protecting freedom of navigation and degrading Iran’s maritime threat capability. The targets included anti-ship missiles, drones, air defense systems, and coastal radar installations.

Recent strikes involved larger operational scopes than earlier missions, extending to critical infrastructure including railway bridges.

Diplomacy that lasted about as long as you’d expect

An interim memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran was signed in mid-June 2026, designed to de-escalate hostilities and reopen the strait to normal traffic. It collapsed within weeks, with both sides accusing the other of violating the agreement.

By late August 2026, the situation had escalated to a US-enforced blockade of Iranian oil exports. CENTCOM reported zero tracked Iranian crude oil exports through the strait during the blockade period. That blockade also affected US allies like Bahrain and Kuwait, who rely on the strait to move their own oil and gas to market.

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