Iranian military force
Appears in 29 stories
Declared Hormuz closed July 11 after GFS Galaxy attack; struck five Gulf nations July 12 claiming hits on Prince Hassan Air Base and Al Udeid Air Base; 300+ US retaliatory strikes ongoing
The US and Iran have traded strikes every day since Trump declared the ceasefire 'over' on July 8 — US Central Command has now hit more than 300 Iranian military targets across three rounds of strikes. The IRGC attacked commercial ships, struck US bases in five Gulf countries, and formally declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.
Updated 10 hours ago
Enforcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz
For decades, every OPEC+ output decision had the United Arab Emirates in the room, usually pushing to pump more. On Sunday, ministers met in Vienna without it for the first time. The UAE's exit took effect May 1 and pulled about 3.5 million barrels a day out of the group's quota math.
Updated Jun 7
Conducting ongoing strike campaign; attacked three US Navy destroyers in Strait of Hormuz on May 7; now operating under new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
Iranian strikes on the UAE resumed on May 4, breaking the April 8 ceasefire, then expanded into the Strait of Hormuz three days later. Iran attacked three US Navy destroyers on May 7; the US struck back the same day, hitting IRGC missile and drone facilities at Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas.
Updated May 31
Key power broker in post-Khamenei Iran; controls Strait of Hormuz closure
Japan imports 90% of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, shut by Iran six weeks ago. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is attempting what her predecessor Shinzo Abe failed to do in 2019: talk Tehran down from the brink — but with far higher stakes and Trump's Tuesday deadline.
Updated May 30
Conducting Operation True Promise IV missile campaign against Israel and US assets
The United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering what Washington calls Operation Epic Fury. Iran has since fired more than 525 ballistic missiles at Israeli territory. Nearly half carried cluster warheads that scatter dozens of smaller bomblets across wide areas, a weapon type banned by over 100 nations.
Conducting retaliatory strikes on US military and corporate targets across the Gulf
For decades, American tech companies built out massive data centers and office complexes across the Persian Gulf without ever treating them as potential military targets. On April 4, the IRGC struck Oracle's headquarters building in Dubai Internet City with a drone. It's part of a declared campaign against 18 US firms the IRGC accuses of supporting American and Israeli military operations.
Accused of operating under diplomatic cover in Lebanon
Iran has stationed diplomats, intelligence officers, and Revolutionary Guard operatives in Lebanon for more than four decades, building Hezbollah into the most powerful non-state military force in the Middle East. On March 24, 2026, Lebanon's foreign ministry told Iran's newly appointed ambassador-designate to leave the country within five days — the first time Beirut has ever expelled an Iranian envoy.
Conducting retaliatory operations against US, Israeli, and allied targets
For nearly a decade, Iran insisted it had deliberately capped its ballistic missile range at 2,000 kilometers—enough to hit Israel and American bases in the Middle East but not Europe. On March 21, 2026, Iran fired two missiles 4,000 kilometers at Diego Garcia, a US-UK military base; one failed in flight, another was intercepted by a warship, yet Iran proved its range was double its former claim.
Created Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) on May 5; exchanged fire with US Navy destroyers on May 7; enforcing Vessel Information Declaration requirements for all strait transits
Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, after US-Israeli strikes, cutting off roughly a fifth of global oil supply. The US-Iran ceasefire, extended by Trump on April 21, holds formally. But Iran's May 10 counter-proposal demanded Iranian sovereignty over the strait, an end to all US sanctions, and an immediate lifting of the naval blockade. Trump called the response "totally unacceptable," and roughly 1,500 commercial vessels remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf.
Command structure severely degraded; interim council and remaining branches facing sustained US-Israeli strikes that have reportedly destroyed much of Iran’s missile arsenal and portions of its navy while Tehran continues regional retaliation.
Ali Khamenei ruled Iran as supreme leader for 36 years until joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026, killed him along with family members and multiple top military and intelligence officials at his Tehran compound. The succession process is now opaque and under fire, with the Assembly of Experts' Qom site damaged, acting leader Ali Larijani facing a power vacuum, and the IRGC interim council trying to preserve control.
Directing Iran's retaliatory campaign
For more than four decades, US embassies in the Middle East and Africa have faced bombings, sieges, and missile strikes. None has been attacked in Western Europe — until an incendiary device detonated at the entrance of the US Embassy in Oslo at 1:00 a.m. on March 8, shattering windows and sending smoke into the street.
Operating independently of presidential authority during wartime
Iran's Supreme Leader controlled both the presidency and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for over four decades. Eight days after a joint United States-Israeli airstrike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that unified chain of command fractured.
Conducting expanded retaliatory strikes across Gulf including UAE; declared end to restraint on civilian infrastructure targeting
Since February 28, the US-Iran war has expanded to include critical water infrastructure. On March 8, Iran struck a Bahrain desalination plant.
Senior leadership decimated; naval assets targeted in Indian Ocean
For four decades, the United States and Iran avoided direct, large-scale war. That changed on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and leadership compounds, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The assault followed collapsed indirect nuclear talks mediated by Oman. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US bases in the Gulf, oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Embassy in Riyadh.
Launched its largest single naval attack of the conflict on May 7 (eight cruise missiles, 24 suicide drones at three US destroyers); enforcing mandatory IRGC-designated routing through the strait; suffered loss of six boats on May 4
The Iran-US war reached its 73rd day with talks at a deadlock. Trump called Iran's May 10 response 'garbage' and declared the ceasefire on 'massive life support'.
Conducting retaliatory strikes across Gulf region
Dubai International Airport processed 95.2 million passengers in 2025 and became the world's busiest in January 2026. On March 1, Iranian missiles and drones struck its terminals, forcing full evacuation. On March 16—16 days into the conflict—another drone hit a fuel tank, reigniting flight suspensions and forcing additional Emirates cancellations despite partial airspace reopening. Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Kuwait shut down simultaneously on February 28, severing three major Gulf hubs that route long-haul traffic between Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Loses intelligence chief Khademi and Quds Force operative Mir to US-Israeli strikes; retaliatory air defenses persist despite cascading leadership losses
Operation Epic Fury, launched jointly by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, reached day 39 with the heaviest strikes yet on Iran. The campaign has confirmed over 9,000 targets hit, more than 130 naval vessels destroyed, and at least 55 senior regime leaders killed.
Primary force conducting crackdown
On February 14, 2026, an estimated 250,000 people marched through Munich during the Munich Security Conference, the largest protest ever held in Europe against Iran's government. The same day, 350,000 gathered in Toronto and 60,000 in Los Angeles—part of a coordinated Global Day of Action called by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, who has lived outside Iran for 47 years. Over one million people participated worldwide.
Updated May 29
Orchestrated selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader; continuing protest executions and war operations alongside ceasefire negotiations
The December 2025 uprising was suppressed at massive cost. HRANA's February 23 report, 'The Crimson Winter,' verified 7,007 deaths—6,488 adult protesters, 236 minors, 207 security forces, and 76 bystanders—with another 11,744 cases still under review. President Pezeshkian publicly apologized for the massacres on February 11.
Updated May 26
Named by Bahrain as the sponsor of the convicted cells
A Bahraini court sentenced nine people to life on Sunday for spying for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Two others got three years. The verdict is the latest in a string of prosecutions Manama has pushed through since Iranian missiles and drones hit the kingdom in February.
Updated May 24
Navy destroyed (120+ ships), defenses degraded (~1,000 missiles left); fast boats active; consolidates under Mojtaba Khamenei; positioned for ceasefire or escalation
Three U.S. carrier strike groups deployed: USS Abraham Lincoln (Arabian Sea since January 2026), USS Gerald R. Ford (Mediterranean), and USS George H.W. Bush. This triple-carrier presence responded to Iran's crackdown on December 2025 protests.
Now designated as terrorist organization by EU, US, Canada, Australia
For over two decades, the European Union resisted designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, wary of severing diplomatic ties with Tehran. On January 29, 2026, that resistance collapsed. All 27 EU foreign ministers voted unanimously to place the IRGC on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Islamic State—a designation that triggers automatic asset freezes and travel bans across the bloc. Within hours, the United Kingdom signaled it would follow suit with separate legislation targeting hostile state agencies.
Updated May 23
Targeted by new Australian sanctions; fears of US strikes reigniting unrest
Iran's 2022 uprising killed roughly 500 people over several months. The current one has killed at least 6,842 people (possibly more than 30,000) in just over five weeks; leaked documents reveal Supreme Leader Khamenei approved a premeditated crackdown blueprint months in advance.[1][2]
Designated as terrorist organization by EU; 214 members killed in protests
Bazaar merchants bankrolled Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now they're in the streets demanding its end.
Updated May 22
Continuing crackdown operations; reports of chemical weapons use
The Islamic Republic has survived four decades of protests—but never anything like this. What began on December 28 as Tehran bazaar merchants protesting a collapsing currency became Iran's largest uprising since the 1979 revolution, with demonstrations in all 31 provinces.
Updated May 21
Designated terrorist organization by EU on January 29, placed on same list as al-Qaeda and ISIS; faces asset freezes, funding prohibition, travel bans; led massacre that killed at least 6,126; hundreds of junior officers defected; carried out at least 52 executions
Iran's nationwide uprising, triggered by December 28, 2025 bazaar marches in Tehran, was crushed in what may be the deadliest massacre in the Islamic Republic's history. An internet blackout that began January 8 was partially restored around January 17-18, though connectivity remains severely restricted. Early reports confirmed 572 deaths; after internet restoration in late January, the Human Rights Activists News Agency documented at least 6,126 deaths, with estimates ranging from 12,000 to over 36,500.
Updated May 20
Leading crackdown on protesters with live ammunition
Iran's judiciary chief announced January 14 that detained protesters face fast-track trials and executions, despite Trump's warning of "very strong action." The death toll hit at least 2,571, per Human Rights Activists News Agency — four times the count from two days earlier and more than any crackdown since 1979.
Leading violent crackdown with live fire on protesters
The Iranian rial lost half its value in six months, prompting merchants—the same traders who toppled the Shah in 1979—to shut down Tehran's Grand Bazaar on December 28. Within two weeks, the strike became the largest uprising since the Islamic Revolution; credible estimates range from 500 to 3,000 dead after a five-day internet blackout, with the IRGC firing live ammunition on crowds.
Controls strait passage, suspected backer of Iran crypto channels
The Strait of Hormuz has been mostly closed to commercial shipping since late February. On Sunday, Iran began selling Bitcoin-priced insurance to anyone willing to risk the crossing.
Updated May 18
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