Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to a third consecutive night of U.S. strikes against Iran Saturday with a five-word post — “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.” — as U.S. Central Command launched fresh attacks hours after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps disabled a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz and declared the waterway closed to all shipping until further notice.
“At 7:15 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM announced on X. “A civilian crew member is missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engine room damage.”
Hegseth reposted the CENTCOM statement and added on X: “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.” The strikes were carried out at the direction of Commander in Chief Trump, CENTCOM said.
What Happened to the GFS Galaxy
The M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, was transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday when IRGC naval forces attacked it. The attack ignited a fire aboard the vessel and caused significant damage to its engine room, leaving it unable to continue its voyage. One civilian crew member is missing, according to the official CENTCOM public releases page. Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency separately reported the vessel had sustained damage to its rear section and was located approximately nine nautical miles east of Oman at the time.
Iran’s IRGC framed the attack differently. Its navy claimed the vessel had attempted to transit through an “unauthorized route” and had been struck by a “warning shot” after ignoring commands to stop, according to Iranian state media. Iran then declared the Strait of Hormuz closed “until further notice and until the end of U.S. interference in the region,” warning that any vessel attempting to cross would be halted and that any enemy “misstep” would be met with a “severe response.”
The Third Strike in Three Days
Saturday’s strikes were the third consecutive military response by the United States this week. CENTCOM completed its first round of strikes July 7, hitting over 80 Iranian targets including IRGC small boats, air defense systems, command and control networks and coastal radar sites after Iran attacked three commercial vessels earlier in the week, according to the first official CENTCOM press release.
CENTCOM completed a second round of strikes July 8 “to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz,” including railways Iran was using to transport military supplies, according to the official July 8 CENTCOM press release. Explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Bushehr, Asaluyeh and Chabahar in the latest round Saturday.
Iran Closes the Strait
Iran’s formal closure of the Strait of Hormuz marks a significant escalation. The waterway carries roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. The IRGC navy warned no vessel would be allowed to cross without its approval and that all vessels must coordinate with Tehran, according to Iranian state media.
The closure comes as a disputed interpretation of Article 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding — the June 17 ceasefire agreement — has driven the conflict’s latest escalation. The U.S. interprets the MOU as requiring Iran to fully open the Strait to all vessels. Iran interprets it as giving Tehran authority to coordinate shipping routes and require vessels in the northern lane, which runs through Iranian territorial waters, to receive approval from — but not pay a toll to — Tehran.
Diplomatic Track Continues in Parallel
Even as the strikes continued, a diplomatic track remained open. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi in Muscat on Saturday to discuss “appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry. An Omani proposal to manage the two lanes separately — with the southern lane operating unimpeded and the northern lane requiring Iranian coordination — was being discussed, though it had not received full U.S. backing as of Saturday evening.
Qatar has also been serving as an intermediary between the two sides, according to CBS News. Vice President JD Vance, Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff have all been working diplomatic channels. No breakthrough was announced as of Saturday evening and the talks adjourned without a public statement on Strait navigation, with Araghchi returning to Tehran with the Omani proposal for Iranian leadership to consider.
Oil and Markets
The formal Iranian closure of the Strait sent oil prices surging. Brent crude jumped more than 4 percent to over $82 a barrel in after-hours trading Saturday, extending the week’s gains that had already pushed oil to its highest level since the Iran war began in February The closure threat has reignited fears of a supply disruption that could push oil above $100 a barrel if sustained, a level that economists say would sharply accelerate inflation across the global economy.
The MOU’s 60-day negotiating window is set to expire in mid-August. With Iran formally closing the Strait, the U.S. conducting its third round of strikes in three days, and diplomatic talks in Oman adjourning without resolution, the prospect of a negotiated settlement before that deadline now appears more distant than at any point since the June agreement was signed. Whether the Omani proposal can bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran — or whether a fourth round of strikes is launched before diplomats can reconvene — is the central question as of Saturday night.