In the early hours of the 12th local time, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed from that point onward until further notice. Iran said that any actions by foreign forces to interfere in the strait’s affairs and to designate shipping lanes would be met with a “firm response.”

The immediate trigger for this round of escalation was the attack on the Cypriot-flagged container ship “GFS Galaxy.” The US and shipping authorities said the attack caused the vessel to catch fire and suffer severe damage, leaving one crew member missing and the rest abandoning the ship and evacuating. Iran, however, said that at the time it only carried out warning shots at “violating vessels.”

Later on the 12th, the US military launched its third strike against Iran this week. The Associated Press, citing US military sources, said the operation covered about 140 targets, including missile and drone storage and launch facilities, maritime and airborne surveillance radars, and air-defense positions, among others.

On the same day, Iran announced that it had launched missiles and drones toward Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and other directions, saying that some of these actions targeted military targets of the United States and its allies in the Middle East. The relevant countries subsequently initiated air-defense interceptions and alerts.