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Trump ordered a fifth day of Iran strikes as CENTCOM reimposed the Strait of Hormuz blockade, again defying the war-powers resolution

On July 15, 2026, U.S. forces struck Iranian targets for a fifth consecutive day and U.S. Central Command reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, in a round Iran's Health Ministry said wounded more than 260 people, the highest single-day toll reported since the campaign resumed. Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened to halt all Middle East energy exports in response and launched retaliatory missiles and drones at U.S.-hosting states including Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. The strikes and blockade continued a campaign Congress had directed the administration to end through a bicameral War Powers Resolution passed in June 2026, without new congressional authorization.

Part of: Trump Administration's Iran War Waged in Defiance of the War Powers Act

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

Early on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, the U.S. military carried out another wave of strikes on Iran, hitting dozens of targets and reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports over Tehran's attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were meant "to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz." Iran's Health Ministry reported more than 260 people wounded in the overnight round alone -- more than in any prior round -- and an Iranian government spokesperson said more than 30 people had been killed over recent days. The escalation entered its fifth consecutive day.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East in response to the blockade, warning that "the region's oil and gas exports will either be available to everyone or to no one." Iran launched retaliatory missiles and drones at states hosting U.S. forces, including Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, with Jordan saying it shot down three incoming missiles. Axios reported that President Trump convened a Situation Room meeting with senior national-security officials to review plans for a significantly expanded military campaign against Iran. Congress in June 2026 passed the first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution directing the president to end hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization; the administration has continued strikes through multiple rounds since, without new authorization.

Why we recorded this

Congress holds the constitutional power to authorize war. In June 2026, both chambers passed the first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution directing the president to end hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or specific congressional authorization. This entry records a fifth consecutive day of U.S. strikes on Iran and U.S. Central Command's reimposition of the naval blockade on Iranian ports, the most intensive round reported to date. It continues a sustained pattern in which the executive branch has repeatedly disregarded the constitutional check Congress exercised for the first time in over fifty years.

Sources

  1. Tehran threatens to halt all Mideast energy exports after U.S. reimposes blockade on Iran — AP News primary accessed July 15, 2026
  2. U.S. and Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz intensifies — NPR primary accessed July 15, 2026
  3. U.S. blockades Iranian ports, launches dozens of strikes as Trump seeks control of Strait of Hormuz — CBS News primary accessed July 15, 2026
  4. Trump held Situation Room meeting on massive new Iran strikes — Axios secondary accessed July 15, 2026

See also