The Day: Tuesday, July 8, 2026 (#73)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0500

The June 17 ceasefire agreement gave commercial ships the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for sixty days. On Monday, three ships were attacked in the Strait anyway.

The first two, a Qatari LNG carrier called the Al Rekayat and a Saudi supertanker called the Wedyan, were hit within hours of each other. The Al Rekayat was left with an engine room fire at risk of explosion. The Wedyan was taking on water. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a third vessel before the day was out. CENTCOM responded overnight, announcing strikes on more than 80 targets inside Iran: air defense systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar installations, and more than 60 IRGC small boats operating in and around the Strait. The Treasury Department reimposed oil sanctions on Iran that had been suspended under the June agreement. CENTCOM called the tanker attacks “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.” Iranian officials, by Tuesday morning, warned of a “crushing response.” The Washington Post reported on the U.S. strikes and what CENTCOM said about the decision to respond.

Ankara on Sunday Evening Review

The Day: Tuesday, July 8, 2026 (#73)