West Asia war updates: Iran announces closure of Strait of Hormuz after U.S. attacks
Here's something big for your GK notes. Iran has announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all ships, including oil tankers, after fresh American strikes near its southern coast, and its navy says violating vessels will be fired at. So why does this matter for CLAT? The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint, and India imports most of its crude through this route, so any closure hits our energy security directly. Bottom line for the exam, remember the geography, the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and remember that Iran used it as leverage in the 2026 conflict with the United States.
Vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on June 10, 2026.
The U.S. military said on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) night that it has begun fresh round of strikes against Iran afterPresident Donald Trump said more were coming.The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts to end the war, with Mr. Trump warning that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.
Iranian media reported explosions in the country’s south near the Strait of Hormuz after Washington acknowledged carrying out strikes. Explosions were heard in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the island of Qeshm, the cities of Minab and Sirik, they said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) that its neighbours in the Gulf had a “legal and moral responsibility” to prevent American and Israeli strikes, as Tehran and Washington traded attacks. In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry “reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region (especially those located along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf) to prevent the U.S. military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organise, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran”.
Commercial ships continue to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said on X on after Iran’s top joint military command said the strait was closed for the passage of any vessels. -Reuters
Iran’s state media cited a senior official as denying on Thursday (June 11) that Iranian officials were in contact with U.S. President Donald Trump in the wake of U.S. attacks on areas in southern Iran.
“Trump’s false claim that Iranian officials contacted him is a cover to evade war with Iran,” the unnamed official was cited as saying. -Reuters
Iran’s top joint military command announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday (June 11), including oil tankers and commercial ships, saying any vessel that will attempt passage will be shot at.-Reuters
Two “violating ships” attempting passage through the Strait of Hormuz were hit, Iranian media reported on Thursday (June 11), citing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy.
The announcement came shortly after Iran announced the closure of the strategic strait after U.S. attacks on areas in the country’s south. -Reuters
Iranian media early on Thursday (June 11) reported explosions in the country’s south near the Strait of Hormuz after Washington acknowledged carrying out strikes.
Explosions were heard in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the island of Qeshm, the cities of Minab and Sirik, they said.-AFP
The United States launched a new round of air strikes against Iran on Wednesday (June 10) evening, the U.S. military said, in the second straight day of American attacks on the Islamic republic.
American forces began “additional self-defence strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran,” U.S. Central Command said in a post on X, adding: “The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”-AFP
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday (June 10) that upcoming strikes against Iran will be “strong” and “clear,” suggesting the military action could stretch into a second night.
“Those strikes that’ll happen tonight will be strong, they will be clear. If they happen to happen tomorrow night, they will be strong and they will be clear,” Mr. Hegseth told journalists at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida. -AFP
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (June 10) that the U.S. military secretly helped 100 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran largely closed in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks.
“Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” Mr. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, claiming the U.S. “controls” the waterway.-AFP
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday (June 10) of the risk of a return to “full war” in West Asia after Iran and the United States traded strikes.
“We should not minimise the risks of a lesser fire becoming full fire, or in other words -- full war,” Secretary-General Guterres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the tinderbox region.
Thousands of Iranians in the southern port town of Sirik have lost access to drinking water after U.S. strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, Iranian state media said Wednesday (June 10, 2026).
The United States carried out strikes on the southern cities of Jask and Sirik and on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz after what Washington said was Iran’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over Gulf waters.
The strikes damaged two reservoirs supplying the Bemani and Kouhestak areas of Sirik town.
“Unfortunately, following this attack, 20,000 residents of the region have lost access to safe drinking water, and with temperatures ranging between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius, conditions have become extremely difficult and critical for local inhabitants,” Iran’s state television quoted local water company officials as saying.
The United States, Britain, European allies and other nations condemned Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps-Intelligence Organisation, Quds Force, and Ministry of Intelligence and Security for “lethal plotting” and other actions in Europe, North America and Australia, a joint statement said on Wednesday (June 10).
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to global energy disruptions “never seen before”, the chief executive of British oil giant Shell said Wednesday (June 10).
More than 10% of global oil production has been removed from the market since the start of the West Asia war, Wael Sawan told a summit of top business leaders hosted by theWall Street Journal.
He said the impacts are “disproportionately painful” in Asia, where countries including India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have resorted to fuel rationing.
The Indian Embassy in Muscat on Wednesday (June 10) said that it is closely monitoring an incident involving a vessel off the coast of Oman, “in close touch with the local authorities on the issue.”
Two crew members were missing, and one was injured on Wednesday (June 10) after a suspected U.S. missile strike on a tanker off the coast of Oman, maritime officials said.
“Ambrey assesses that this was likely the result of U.S. operations to blockade Iranian ports,” British maritime security group Ambrey said.
“In the past, crews have been warned to gather on the bow of a vessel before an attack on the stern.”
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people on Wednesday (June 10), a Lebanese medical source said, as state media reported Israeli strikes across the south.
“The number of martyrs from the Israeli airstrikes in the town of Tayr Dibba is eight, and in Deir Qanun al-Nahr it is four,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. State media had reported at least four Israeli strikes on Tayr Dibba and two on Deir Qanun al-Nahr.
Israel’s military struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday (June 10), hitting apartments in two buildings after saying it had intercepted rockets launched by Hezbollah into Israeli territory.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said the attack in the capital killed two people and wounded 20 others, including four children and four women.
Israel and Hezbollah regularly exchange fire in southern Lebanon, but the capital -- including districts seen as bastions of the Iran-backed group - has been relatively spared of late, having been struck only twice since mid-April.
An Israeli strike hit a car in the centre of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on Wednesday (June 10), state media reported, as Israel persisted with its attacks across the country’s south.
AnAFPcorrespondent heard an explosion in the area before seeing a car burning as rescuers and firefighters headed to the scene.
The correspondent saw rescuers pull two people from the targeted vehicle. Lebanon’s state-runNational News Agencyreported “an enemy strike on a car” in the city.
The UN human rights office will deploy a team of investigators to Lebanon next week to assess potential violations of international law by all parties during the current war in the country, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Wednesday (June 10).
Lebanon was drawn into the wider West Asia conflict on March 2 when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Iran, which was under U.S.-Israeli attack, prompting a major Israeli air and ground campaign.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in his Truth social media post on Wednesday (June 10), said that Iran has taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them; “they will have to pay the price.”
Mr. Trump also added, “Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore. They have been completely defeated.”
Trump claims Iran's delays in negotiations will lead to consequences, calling them "all talk and no action."
Israeli forces seized a municipal councillor and a worker in Kfarshuba, southern Lebanon, on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), state media reported, as Israel pursued its strikes on the country.
Asked byAFPin Jerusalem, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.
“An Israeli patrol took away Kfarshuba municipal council member Mohammad Hassan al-Hajj and worker Ahmad Salah Diab, taking them to an unknown location,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said.
“The two men were working to pump water to the town of Kfarshuba when the Israeli patrol stopped them and took them away,” it said.
Two crew members were missing on Wednesday (July 10, 2026) after a fire started in the engine room of a tanker 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman’s Sohar, The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
UKMTO reported one casualty, without giving further details, and did not report the cause of the fire.
A tanker’s engine room caught fire off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), a U.K. maritime agency said, reporting two missing and one casualty.
Earlier, British maritime security company Vanguard Tech said the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello had “transmitted a distress call stating that its engine room had been struck by a missile while operating off Sohar in the Gulf of Oman” and that there was a fire onboard.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency later reported an incident 20 nautical miles northeast of Sohar, Oman.
“Local authorities have reported a tanker has experienced a fire in their engine room and are on the scene assisting with the evacuation of the crew,” it said.
Diplomatic efforts with the United States cannot advance under repeated ceasefire violations, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), following overnight clashes in the Gulf between Tehran and Washington.
Mr. Baghaei accused Washington of undermining diplomacy through contradictory messages, shifting positions and repeated ceasefire violations and said Israel was also damaging the process through repeated ceasefire breaches in Lebanon.
“Following overnight events, we need to re-assess (the diplomatic path with Washington) ... any diplomatic process requires a minimum stable environment,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) that the United States had damaged the ongoing international diplomatic effort to end the war after more U.S. strikes on targets in southern Iran.
“Unfortunately, the United States is damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, throug