• Blockade underway:The US has reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to a US military statement. The US military also said Iran has struck seven commercial ships in the last week
• Fourth night of strikes: The US launched another night of strikes against Iran as attacks were also reported across the region. Footage appears to show a drone impact in Kuwait after Iran claims strikes there and on US military assets in Jordan
• US warning:President Donald Trump renewed his threat to bomb Iranian civilian infrastructure unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table. Trump also said the US strikes on Iran will “continue until I say it’s enough.”
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As the US military reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports on Tuesday, the US government ramped up its economic pressure campaign on Tehran by further targeting one of Iran’s most notorious oil magnates
The Treasury issued a new slew of sanctions against individuals, entities and vessels connected to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, who is considered a central player in the “shadow fleet” network that has generated billions of dollars in oil revenue for Moscow and Tehran
Shamkhani, who also goes by the alias Hugo Hayek, was born in Tehran and previously also held citizenship for the Caribbean state of Dominica, according to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Dominica has been accused of selling passports to fugitives and revoked Shamkhani’s citizenship last year amid international pressure
He is the son of the late Ali Shamkhani, the former head of Iran’s National Security Council and top advisor to the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Both Ali Shamkhani and Khamenei were killed in the same US-Israeli strike on the first day of the war with Iran
People attend the funeral ceremony for Ali Shamkhani, who was killed in attacks by the United States and Israel, at the Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine in Tajrish Square in Tehran, Iran, on March 14.
The younger Shamkhani leveraged his father’s political influence to build and operate a fleet of tankers smuggling sanctioned oil from Iran and Russia, OFAC has alleged. His empire has now expanded into shipping and commodities trading
Shamkhani and his brother Abolfazl used “Hayek” aliases and Dominica passports to amass nearly $29 million in luxury Dubai real estate. according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Dominica revoked Abolfazl’s citizenship in March, the project reported
Iran says it has targeted US military infrastructure in the Gulf in retaliation for US airstrikes and the reimposed blockade on Iranian ports
CNN cannot independently verify Iran’s claims. The army and state media have repeatedly made claims about successfully targeting US assets that proved untrue, and CNN has reached out to US Central Command for comment
Here are the claims Iran has made on its military action in the Gulf:
• Kuwait:Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed early Wednesday local time that they had struck a US Army logistics and support center located in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait, setting the building on fire, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news reported
Video geolocated by CNN appears to show an Iranian Shahed drone striking an already-burning warehouse in an industrial area of Kuwait on Wednesday morning.
Video geolocated by CNN appears to show an Iranian drone striking an already-burning warehouse in an industrial area near Mina Abdullah in Kuwait. It’s not clear if there is any US link to the building seen on fire
Late Tuesday local time, the Kuwait Fire Force said they had extinguished a blaze “caused by a hostile Iranian aerial aggression,” the official Kuwait News Agency reported, without listing a location for the fire
• Bahrain:The IRGC claimed they targeted a command and control center, warehouses, and fuel storage facilities used by the US Fifth Fleet, state media IRNA reported. Earlier, the IRGC claimed to have “destroyed” the control center for US unmanned boats in an attack on Bahrain, the semi-official Fars News said
U.S. renews blockade on Iranian ports
1:18• Source:
CNN
U.S. renews blockade on Iranian ports
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• Jordan: Iran’s army claimed it struck US military assets at the Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan It alleged that Iranian attack drones struck an area where F-18 fighter jets were stationed, an accommodation building, and a large equipment hangar that IRNA said belonged to the US army. F-18 fighter jets are normally on aircraft carriers and not on bases in the Middle East
The IRGC also said its Air Force “destroyed” US MQ-9 drones at the base, according to semi-official Fars
CNN’s Hira Humayun, Kathleen Magramo, Eyad Kourdi, Isaac Yee and Yasha Saebi contributed reporting
Video released by CENTCOM shows latest round of strikes on Iran
The United States has reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports and launched a fourth consecutive night of strikes on Iran
Attacks have also been reported in Washington’s regional allies — Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan — as Tehran said it was targeting US assets in the region
Here’s what else you should know:
- US strikes Iran:The US military said it launched a “seven-hour wave” of strikes Tuesday night into Wednesday in Iran, hitting dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and coastal areas. Iran state media said the attack damaged a water bottling plant near Iran’s border with Iraq.
- Trump’s warning: US President Donald Trump again threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, saying in a TV interview the US would strike bridges and power plants next week unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table. This is not the first time he’s made such a threat, using blustery warnings as a negotiating tactic. Trump also said the US strikes on Iran will “continue until I say it’s enough.”
- Kuwait under fire:Video appears to show an Iranian drone striking an already-burning warehouse in an industrial area near Mina Abdullah in Kuwait early Wednesday. US forces have been helping defend Kuwait from a steady stream of Iranian retaliatory attacks, including by using Patriot missile systems, according to two US officials. Four members of Kuwait’s armed forces were wounded by an Iranian attack on a Kuwaiti naval vessel, the country’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
- Regional attacks:Iran’s army claims to have struck US military assets at the Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan, according to Iranian state media. Iran has repeatedly targeted military infrastructure in Jordan in recent days, prompting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to condemn the action. Iran also launched multiple strikes at Bahrain, triggering sirens.
- Shipping targeted:Iran has targeted civilians by striking seven commercial ships in the last week — leaving nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing or injured, the US military said.
- Defense policy package: Senate Democrats blocked the annual defense policy package, a must-pass piece of legislation that usually passes with large bipartisan support, amid their objections over the war in Iran.
- Frozen cryptocurrency: The Trump administration has frozen more than $130 million in cryptocurrency it says is linked to Iran.
CNN’s Tori B. Powell, Lex Harvey, Kathleen Magramo, Isaac Yee, Clay Voytek, Hira Humayun, Eyad Kourdi, Mary Kay Mallonee, Jennifer Hansler, Kit Maher and Haley Britzky contributed reporting
The wind and photovoltaic power station on the top of Mount Mi in Xuzhuang Town, Shanting District, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, China on July 8, 2026.
China is struggling to offset economic challenges both at home and abroad, as its economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter of the year
On Wednesday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the economy grew 4.3% in the quarter ending June 30, compared to the same period a year ago
The figures, which fell short of expectations for 4.5% growth, are a rare admission of economic weakness for China, which has long worked to prop up industrial activity with infrastructure investment and exports
Higher energy costs during the war in Iran have helped lift China out of one of its longest periods of deflation, as the nation struggles with industrial overcapacity and sluggish domestic demand
However, the continuation of attacks between the US and Iran could pose challenges to China’s economy. While China has buffered itself from the broader supply shocks, more expensive fuel and commodities could weigh on consumer sentiment and disrupt manufacturing
Read more aboutChina’s economic growth here
President Donald Trump takes part in an inteview on Fox News on Tuesday, July 14
President Donald Trump upped his pressure on Iran to make a deal with the US, saying the country won’t “have anybody left” if it doesn’t
The president went on to say that the US is “being very careful with the civilian population,” before repeating, “But I said, you better make a deal. You’re not going to have anything left.”
Asked if he thinks Iran will make such a deal, Trump told Yingst, “They should. I don’t know if they will or not.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, right, speaks with CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday, July 14.
Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the annual defense policy package, a must-pass piece of legislation that usually passes with large bipartisan support, amid their objections over the war in Iran
The vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, was 50-46
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, told reporters earlier Tuesday that he sees the package as analogous to backing the war with Iran
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, another Democrat on the panel, had warned she would not vote to advance the bill unless it included her amendment to halt additional funding for offensive actions in Iran
