Iran says it is suspending commitments to interim deal with U.S. as the two exchange attacks

The United States and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets on Saturday (July 18, 2026) as an Iranian negotiator said Tehran had suspended its commitments under the interim deal with the U.S. — snapping another fragile thread as the war shows no end in sight.

The battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the essential waterway that previously carried a fifth of the world's crude oil. The widening strikes threatened civilians and services to them, while the global economy again was on alert.

The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday (July 18, 2026) that its seventh straight night of strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”