US launches fresh strikes against Iran; American tanker hit in Egypt: West Asia crisis key updates | World News

3 min readUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 09:51 AM The US military on early Thursday said that they completed ‘a heavy wave of strikes against Iran’ in response to an earlier attack Iran on a US base in Jordan. The strike comes after the US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran ‘very hard’ after the Iranian attack in Jordan in a phone interview with Fox News.
The US Central Command, said in a post on X, that over a span of two hours, the US struck dozens of targets belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, including military command centres, missiles and drone facilities. The Central Command ⁠said the American strikes began on Thursday midnight ⁠and ended two hours past it.

U.S. forces began launching strikes against Iran at 8 p.m. ET today. The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 30, 2026
“CENTCOM assets struck dozens of ‌Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance ‌ and defence sites, ​and maritime ​capabilities,” ​the US Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday.
What’s happening in West Asia?
US conducted attack on Iraq in coordination with Saudi Arabia
The latest attack comes after the US, in coordination with Saudi Arabia, conducted a strike on Iran-backed militia in neighbouring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers, says a report the Associated Press. On Wednesday, the US said that they had intercepted missiles fired Iran before launching a coordinated strike with Saudi Arabia on Iraq.

US-owned gas tanker hit in Egypt
As tensions unravel in West Asia after a brief pause, a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta is reported to be hit a drone, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday. Egypt’s petroleum minry confirmed a fire at the port but did not mention a drone attack, says a report the Times of Israel. No immediate responsibility was claimed for the attack on the oil-tanker.
What’s happening in Hormuz?
A Qatar Energy controlled LNG gas tanker safely made its exit via the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday midnight. The Al Areesh tanker, which loaded a cargo at Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal around July 4-6, sailed out of the strait overnight on July 29, according to Kpler and LSEG data. It is the first such vessel visible on ship-tracking data to leave the waterway since July 11, 2026. 
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