US and Iran Exchange Direct Strikes as Tanker War Reignites in Persian Gulf

Operation Epic Fury targeted Iranian command sites on February twenty-eighth, twenty twenty-six, triggering ballistic missile retaliation.

The United States implemented a surgical naval blockade on July fourteenth to disrupt Iranian port operations.

Iranian forces seized two foreign container vessels and fired on three ships during April twenty twenty-six.

United States military strikes destroyed three oil tankers connected to the IRGC on September fifth, twenty twenty-six.

Maritime conflict in the Strait of Hormuz triggers immediate global oil insurance shocks and freight rate increases.

The transition from vessel seizures to kinetic engagements forced the United States to revise naval rules of engagement.