Iran War

Having escalated into open hostilities on February 28, 2026, the current United States and Iran war has been going on for nearly five months. In this period, the Strait of Hormuz, the only open-ocean exit for major producers like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE has been in chokehold. The strait is the world’s most critical maritime energy chokepoint, facilitating the passage of roughly 600 billion worth of energy trade annually. According to estimates, about 1,500 vessels are stuck in the Persian Gulf, and several hundred more are stuck in the adjacent Gulf of Oman.Now according to new research, something growing on the hulls of these ships could spread worldwide when the trade resumes. The study published in Biological Invasions, was led by an international team of 24 marine scientists, led by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), and including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).The team cautioned that thousands of commercial vessels stranded for months in the Persian/Arabian Gulf following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could unintentionally trigger a massive marine invasive species event. The study titled, “Closure of the Strait of Hormuz May Trigger a Bioinvasion Super-Spreader Event,” highlighted how prolonged periods at anchor allow ship hulls to accumulate dense communities of marine organisms including algae, barnacles, mussels and other invertebrates which can be transported across the globe when trade resumes.

Before the Red Sea flare-up, Trump vowed on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s joint military command in turn warned that if Trump’s threat against infrastructure was carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure and prevent the export of “even a single drop of oil”, Iranian state media reported.

Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion in what it called a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, saying one of three oil tankers had caught fire while the other two turned back. The Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed”, warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.

In 12 straight days of attacks since a June ceasefire fell apart, American strikes have widened from the south to western and central areas of Iran. The US military’s Central Command said it would continue to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten ship traffic.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is at it again, tracking down Iranian regime’s cash and grabbing or freezing it with Operation Economic Fury, the financial side of the actions against the regime.

Bessent explained how they’ve been tracking accounts all over the world, and now they’ve frozen a crypto wallet containing about $130 million linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

🚨 JUST IN: Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent drops this chilling line on the Iranian regime — he’s tracking the Ayatollah’s accounts and assets WORLDWIDE and just FROZE $130M in crypto wallets

“We found the money man for the Ayatollah! We are tracking the Ayatollah’s properties… pic.twitter.com/9Y4VT9NsO7

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 21, 2026