Iran Update Special Report, July 21, 2026

Key Points:

• The Houthis imposed a blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea beginning July 20, warning shipping companies and causing vessels to turn back, aiming to deter Saudi strikes and increase economic costs on Riyadh; while Iran encouraged the blockade to extend the maritime crisis and raise oil prices, the Houthis acted primarily in their own interest.
• Iran continues to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz by rejecting alternative shipping routes and attacking vessels using the southern Omani route, including recent strikes on tankers near Oman and the UAE, to pressure the US into accepting Iranian maritime dominance.
• Iran has escalated attacks on US military bases and personnel across the region, including ballistic missile strikes on Jordanian bases that killed US service members, demonstrating its capability to inflict casualties despite US defensive measures and aiming to erode US resolve in the conflict.
• Iranian forces have targeted critical civilian infrastructure in Kuwait, such as power and water facilities, to impose economic costs on states hosting US forces and pressure them to limit US military operations, thereby attempting to weaken US alliances in the Gulf.
• In Lebanon, Israeli forces withdrew from Zawtar el Gharbiyeh as part of a security agreement, with the Lebanese Armed Forces assuming control, while Hezbollah threatened to shut down Beirut’s airport in response to government restrictions on Iranian influence; meanwhile, Iraqi intelligence dismantled an FPV drone factory linked to Iranian-backed militias, who continue to refuse disarmament until full US withdrawal from Iraq.