# [FLASH] Iran Claims It Seized Strait of Hormuz by Force as US Hits 140 Sites *Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 9:05 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk* **Detected**: 2026-07-12T09:05:23.026Z (2h ago) **Tags**: Iran, UnitedStates, StraitOfHormuz, MiddleEast, Oil, Energy, Military, Shipping **Sources**: OSINT **Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/alerts/14115.md **Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries --- **Summary**: An Iranian parliamentary security spokesperson says Tehran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz "by force" and will keep holding it, just as US Central Command confirms a third wave of strikes on about 140 Iranian military targets and Jordan reports Iranian missiles on its territory. Control of the world’s most critical oil chokepoint is now being openly contested, raising direct risks to Gulf shipping, energy prices, and regional stability. ## Detail Iranian officials are now openly claiming armed control of the Strait of Hormuz at the very moment US forces expand strikes across Iran, turning a dangerous standoff into a direct struggle over the world’s most sensitive energy corridor. At 08:06 UTC, the spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Iran’s parliament declared that Iran has "seized control of the Strait of Hormuz by force" and will continue to hold it by force. Roughly half an hour earlier, at 08:15 UTC, US Central Command announced it had completed a third round of strikes this week, targeting about 140 Iranian military sites. Jordan’s army reported around 08:33 UTC that three Iranian missiles fell on its territory, causing property damage but no casualties. Taken together, the statements indicate a sharp escalation from punitive strikes and missile exchanges into a contest over the freedom of navigation through Hormuz, through which an estimated 17–20 million barrels of oil per day transit. While the Iranian claim is political, not yet corroborated by independent maritime traffic data, it signals intent to physically leverage its geographic position after earlier missile and drone attacks and Iran-linked actions against shipping. The CENTCOM disclosure of 140 sites hit suggests a broad target set across command, air defense, missile, and naval infrastructure, likely including assets Iran would rely on to back any move to interdict traffic. The human and commercial stakes are immediate. Crews on tankers and gas carriers in and near the Strait, as well as port workers and pilots in Gulf export terminals, now face heightened risk of miscalculation or direct attack. Gulf governments — notably Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — must decide within hours how visibly to align with US operations, whether to restrict their own shipping movements, and how to reassure domestic populations and expatriate workforces. Jordan’s report of Iranian missiles landing on its territory, even without casualties, widens the conflict envelope and will alarm Amman, which hosts US forces and sits astride key land and air routes. Militarily, the Iranian parliamentary statement is a signal that Tehran is prepared to use gray-zone or overt naval force — fast boats, mines, anti-ship missiles, drones — to challenge or at least threaten commercial and military vessels transiting Hormuz. The US and its Gulf partners are likely already re-tasking naval and air assets to escort tankers, sweep for mines, and enforce redlines around any Iranian attempt to board or divert foreign ships. Accidental or deliberate clashes between Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval units and US or allied warships now carry a higher probability, with direct implications for escalation toward a wider US-Iran conflict. For markets, even a credible threat to Hormuz control inflates an energy risk premium. Oil and LNG traders will start re-pricing route risk, with Brent and WTI futures vulnerable to sharp spikes on any confirmation of disrupted sailings, delayed loadings, or insurance withdrawals. War-risk insurance premia for vessels in the Gulf and Arabian Sea can jump quickly, raising freight costs and potentially re-routing some cargos around the Cape of Good Hope if risk is perceived as unmanageable. Gulf equities, particularly in transport, petrochemicals, and tourism, face downside pressure, while defense and cybersecurity names in the US and Europe may benefit. Currencies of import-dependent economies in Asia and Europe could weaken against the dollar if oil moves sharply higher. Over the next 24–48 hours, the key pressure points will be: (1) AIS and port data on tanker and LNG carrier movements into and out of the Strait — any sustained slowdown or clustering near Omani or Emirati waters will be an early indicator of disruption; (2) independent confirmation of the locations and effects of the US strikes inside Iran and any Iranian casualties among senior military personnel; (3) regional diplomatic signaling, especially from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Oman, on whether they back the US strikes or push for a pause; (4) further Iranian kinetic actions, including actual interdiction, boarding, or missile/drone launches against commercial vessels; and (5) any move by insurers or classification societies to raise risk categories or suspend cover for Hormuz transits. The speed with which these variables move will determine whether this remains a contained exchange or slides toward a broader Gulf conflict with systemic energy and financial repercussions. **MARKET IMPACT ASSESSMENT:** High immediate upside pressure on crude benchmarks, tanker rates, insurance premia and Middle East risk assets; safe-haven flows into gold, USD, CHF, and possibly US Treasuries; downside risk for Gulf equities and airlines. Any confirmation of sustained disruption to Hormuz traffic could trigger a sharp oil spike and volatility across energy-intensive sectors.