Jul 17, 2026 11:19 PM
(This post was last modified: Jul 17, 2026 11:24 PM by Yazata.)
After Iran started firing on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the US restarted the naval blockade of Iranian ports and began nightly attacks on Iranian port cities. This has been continuing for days.
Air strikes are continuing along the Iranian coast as I write this. There are indications that the US has not only been hitting port facilities, but has also been striking road and rail links between Iran's major port of Shah Bahar and the rest of the country.
Iran is boasting that they targeted an American warship with cruise missiles in what Iran calls "operation thunderbolt". There is no indication that any of the missiles struck the ship, believed to be a replenishment ship, but Iran is claiming victory since the ship reacted by moving further away.
American aircraft movements tell a mixed story. It appears that all American F-22 fighters, the world's most advanced stealth fighters, have been withdrawn and returned to the US. These are aircraft optimized for air-to-air combat against technologically advanced opponents, and they might have been withdrawn because Iran's air force and air defenses are decimated. I believe that all of the B-52's formerly at RAF Fairford in England have returned to the United States as well. There are still B-1's at Fairford.
But the US appears to be building up its aerial refueling capacity in Israel, with some 60 refueling tankers in Israel, about 30 of them at Ben Gurion international airport outside Tel Aviv. More air tankers appear to be on the way. Israel is saying that while they appreciate the American support, Ben Gurion airport is getting clogged and civilian air traffic is impacted. The US says that they prefer Ben Gurion over some of the other Israeli air bases they've been using like Ovda in the Negev desert to the south, because Tel Aviv is under a stronger missile defense shield meant to protect the city from missile attack.
Air strikes are continuing along the Iranian coast as I write this. There are indications that the US has not only been hitting port facilities, but has also been striking road and rail links between Iran's major port of Shah Bahar and the rest of the country.
Iran is boasting that they targeted an American warship with cruise missiles in what Iran calls "operation thunderbolt". There is no indication that any of the missiles struck the ship, believed to be a replenishment ship, but Iran is claiming victory since the ship reacted by moving further away.
American aircraft movements tell a mixed story. It appears that all American F-22 fighters, the world's most advanced stealth fighters, have been withdrawn and returned to the US. These are aircraft optimized for air-to-air combat against technologically advanced opponents, and they might have been withdrawn because Iran's air force and air defenses are decimated. I believe that all of the B-52's formerly at RAF Fairford in England have returned to the United States as well. There are still B-1's at Fairford.
But the US appears to be building up its aerial refueling capacity in Israel, with some 60 refueling tankers in Israel, about 30 of them at Ben Gurion international airport outside Tel Aviv. More air tankers appear to be on the way. Israel is saying that while they appreciate the American support, Ben Gurion airport is getting clogged and civilian air traffic is impacted. The US says that they prefer Ben Gurion over some of the other Israeli air bases they've been using like Ovda in the Negev desert to the south, because Tel Aviv is under a stronger missile defense shield meant to protect the city from missile attack.
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