Middle East Tensions Flare Up As IRGC Shuts Strait Of Hormuz: US, Iran Trade Strikes And Peace Hopes Recede

Vehicles drive past a large billboard reading "The Strait of Hormuz remains closed" as people gather in Tehran's Revolution Square after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, on April 8, 2026. Iran has again shut the Strait on Saturday reigniting Middle East tensions. (Credit: ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Hostilities in the strife-torn Middle East are being reignited. The US forces launched a third wave of attacks on Iran near the contentious Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The US strikes followed a missile attack on a commercial cargo ship by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite military unit of Iran.

Iran responded with a swarm of drones and missiles targeting several countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Jordan. The burst of fighting has raised concerns about efforts to reach a permanent end to a war that began on February 28, dragging the region back into an escalating conflict after a shaky ceasefire brokered in June.