Trump ordered fifth round of Iran strikes near Strait of Hormuz, again defying war-powers resolution

On July 12, 2026, beginning around 5 p.m. ET, U.S. Central Command carried out a new round of strikes on Iran, targeting drone, missile, and ammunition sites as well as surveillance and naval-operations facilities near the Strait of Hormuz — at Sirik, Qeshm Island, Jask, and west of Bandar Abbas. CENTCOM said President Trump "directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable," framing the goal as continuing to degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the strait. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had declared the Strait of Hormuz closed the same day, citing U.S. interference, and Iran reported strikes hitting Qeshm Island with additional explosions in Bandar Abbas.

This marks the fifth distinct round of U.S. strikes on Iran since Congress passed the first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution in June 2026 — the House 215-208, the Senate 50-48 — directing the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization. A CENTCOM release the day before had already described the prior three nights of action as a "third round of strikes within a single week," hitting more than 300 locations; Sunday's strikes extended that campaign into a fifth distinct round since the resolution passed, continuing a pattern in which the administration has resumed hostilities despite Congress's directive to end them absent specific authorization.