# [WARNING] CENTCOM Says 13th Night of Iran Strikes Hits Command, Maritime Assets, Central Iran Targeted *Friday, July 24, 2026 at 1:41 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk* **Detected**: 2026-07-24T01:41:04.953Z (3h ago) **Tags**: United States, Iran, Airstrikes, Strait of Hormuz, Energy, Middle East, Military, Oil Markets **Sources**: OSINT **Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/alerts/16115.md **Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries --- **Summary**: U.S. Central Command reports a 13th straight night of strikes on Iranian command, drone, communication and coastal surveillance sites as fresh reports cite bombings around Yazd and Khandab in central Iran. The pattern hardens into a sustained air campaign that directly threatens Iran’s ability to monitor and pressure shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, keeping oil markets and regional governments on edge. ## Detail U.S. Central Command said at 01:26 UTC that American forces completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran at 21:00 ET on 23 July, targeting military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities. Within the same half‑hour window, open‑source reports indicated fresh U.S. Air Force bombing of military positions in Yazd, in central Iran, and a projectile strike outside Khandab, with local authorities assessing damage. The operational pattern has shifted from episodic raids to a sustained air campaign that systematically degrades Iran’s ability to project power and threaten commercial shipping. Confirmed details point to a broadening target set and geographic spread. CENTCOM’s statement confirms repeated hits on Iranian command-and-control, unmanned systems infrastructure, and coastal surveillance along with unspecified “maritime capabilities,” explicitly linked to reducing the risk Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels. OSINT channels at 01:17 UTC reported bombing of military positions in Yazd, a central Iranian city far from the Gulf coast. At 01:03 UTC, a provincial official acknowledged that a point outside Khandab was struck by a projectile and that assessments of damage are underway. While U.S. attribution for the Khandab incident is not formally confirmed, the timing and trajectory of the campaign make U.S. responsibility highly plausible. For people on the ground, this means a widening zone of risk inside Iran: communities in central provinces that were previously distant from front-line tensions are now under fire or air-defense activity. For crews, insurers and charterers, the declared focus on coastal surveillance and maritime assets directly touches the safety calculus for tankers and bulk carriers transiting the Strait of Hormuz and into the wider Gulf. Governments that rely on Gulf flows—Europe, major Asian importers, and price‑sensitive emerging markets—face rising exposure to supply interruptions, freight spikes and potential miscalculation between U.S. and Iranian forces. Militarily, repeated strikes on command nodes and drone infrastructure aim to erode Iran’s capacity to launch coordinated UAV and missile attacks against regional bases and shipping. Hitting coastal surveillance and maritime capabilities is designed to blind or deter Iran from tracking and harassing traffic near key chokepoints. The reported reach into Yazd and around Khandab suggests the U.S. is now willing to degrade deeper‑inland infrastructure that underpins Iran’s long‑range strike network, not just assets along the Gulf rim. This raises the risk of Iranian retaliation beyond the maritime domain, including cyber operations, proxy attacks, or missile launches against U.S. partners. Markets will read CENTCOM’s language and the continuity of strikes as confirmation that this is not a short, symbolic exchange but an evolving campaign. Oil retains a war premium: each additional night of strikes that targets coastal surveillance and maritime assets increases the perceived probability of disruptions in or around the Strait of Hormuz, and interacts with separate Red Sea attacks that are already lifting crude benchmarks. Gold and other safe‑havens are likely to remain bid, while defense stocks tied to munitions, ISR and naval assets benefit from sustained operational tempo. EM currencies with high energy import bills are vulnerable to further weakness as hedging costs rise and policymakers confront imported inflation. In the next 24–48 hours, the key watch points are: whether Iran attempts a visible retaliatory strike on U.S. assets or shipping; any indication that Iranian naval forces or proxies move to physically challenge traffic near Hormuz; satellite or AIS evidence of altered tanker routing or slow‑steaming; and U.S. political signals about campaign duration or objectives. A confirmed large‑scale Iranian response, or damage to a major tanker or export terminal, would move this dynamic toward a Tier‑1, flash‑level crisis for both security planners and energy markets. **MARKET IMPACT ASSESSMENT:** Sustained U.S. air operations against Iranian command, drone, and coastal surveillance assets, plus new attacks in central Iran, reinforce upside pressure on crude benchmarks, support gold and defense equities, and keep downside pressure on risk assets and exposed EM FX. Elevated war-premium in freight rates and tanker insurance for Hormuz and Red Sea routes likely persists or widens.