Despite repeated peace negotiations between the US and Iran, the war in the Middle East is far from over. In the latest escalation in the war, the United States launched fresh strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night on Tuesday (21st July).
The US Central Command (Centcom) said the wave of strikes was “designed to continue degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz. It further said that the US forces had targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure.
CENTCOM forces began striking military targets in Iran at 7 p.m. ET today for the 11th consecutive night. The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 21, 2026
According to Al Jazeera, the IRIB state broadcaster reported that a location outside the city limits of Baneh in the western Kurdistan province was targeted by enemy attacks. The Iranian state media reported that air defences in Tehran were activated as explosions were heard in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, and Bushehr, which houses Iran’s only nuclear power plant.
Meanwhile, the US President said that the US military’s next target in Iran could be Pickaxe Mountain, which is said to be Iran’s underground nuclear site near Natanz, where the country is suspected of building an undeclared enrichment facility.
“We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump told reporters during a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. He added that he would not normally announce targets but “there’s not a thing they can do about it”.
Military hostilities resumed between the US and Iran last week, violating a ceasefire that was agreed upon by the two countries in April this year, as the control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint between the two countries.
War with Iran cost the US $37.5 billion: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth
While testifying before the Senate on Tuesday in support of Trump’s $87.6 billion supplemental funding request, the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the fund was intended to replenish the Pentagon after the US-Iran war, which has cost the US a fortune.
Hegseth admitted that the US has incurred an expenditure of $37.5 billion so far in the war with Iran, adding that the bill is likely to be much higher.
