WORLD CONFLICT DEBRIEF — Live OSINT Dashboard Tracking Global Conflicts.

The mechanism — Enforcement runs through the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), the US-led body that issues warnings and tracks compliance. In practice: vessels bound for Iranian ports are barred outright; neutral ships bound for non-Iranian ports may pass; humanitarian cargo is allowed but subject to inspection. It covers the entire Iranian coastline, not just the strait itself, and applies to all flags — there's no carve-out for non-US-aligned shipping.

What "enforcement" looks like — The blockade had its first live test within 24 hours: the Curaçao-flagged tanker M/T Belma ignored repeated warnings and continued toward Iran's Kharg Island. A US aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into its smokestack — disabling, not sinking, the vessel. That's the demonstrated threshold so far: warned, then disabled, not destroyed outright. Whether that stays the pattern for future blockade-runners is one of the dashboard's open watch items.

A legal wrinkle worth knowing — Naval blockades have traditionally been treated under international law as acts of war in their own right, independent of any other hostilities. Washington has avoided the formal word "blockade" in some official language, framing the posture instead as maritime interdiction — a distinction with real legal weight, even though the practical effect (barring transit, boarding or striking non-compliant vessels) is the same either way.

Jul 14 — blockade declared — CENTCOM formalized the naval blockade of Iran's entire coastline at 20:00 GMT, superseding the looser designated-route enforcement Iran had been running unilaterally since early July.

Jul 15-16 — two enforcement strikes — The M/T Belma ignored warnings toward Kharg Island and was hit with Hellfire fire Jul 15; a second vessel attempting to run the blockade was disabled Jul 16 as the campaign widened into northern Iran for the first time.

Jul 18-19 — Jordan attack, US toll revised to 3 dead — Iranian strikes on US forces in Jordan, initially reported as 2 killed/1 missing, were confirmed Jul 19 as 3 US service members killed — the first American combat fatalities of this round since March. The Pentagon separately disclosed nearly 100 troops injured (96% returned to duty) since Jul 7, pushing back on reports of undercounted casualties.

Jul 20 — ninth night, Houthis join, traffic collapses — Strikes hit Abadan and Tabriz (the widest geographic spread yet) as the Houthis announced their own maritime embargo in solidarity with Iran. Hormuz daily crossings have fallen to roughly 9 vessels versus a ~130/day pre-war average; Brent crude jumped to ~$91/bbl. UK and French patrol offers remain rejected by Iran's chief negotiator, who asserts only coastal states control Hormuz security.

Jul 21 — tenth night, Erbil death confirmed, ceasefire floated — A US service member, Sgt. Michael Swinton, was confirmed killed in a controlled drone-detonation at Erbil Air Base, Iraq — separate from the Jordan strike casualties; Iranian authorities say 95 locations across 12 cities have been hit over 10 days, with Hegseth estimating the war's cost to the US at $37.5B. Iran attacked another tanker in Hormuz; the Houthis escalated their embargo to specifically target Saudi Arabia. Trump called Iran 'desperate' to talk while threatening to hit 'Pickaxe Mountain' — a reported new nuclear site — 'very heavily'; regional mediators reportedly floated a 10-day ceasefire proposal to both sides.

Jul 22 — eleventh night, a second chokepoint closes — Strikes hit seven provinces including an electrical installation near the Bushehr nuclear plant. Iran attacked another tanker in the strait, pushing Brent past $92/bbl. The Houthis declared Bab el-Mandeb off limits to Saudi Arabia and warned shipping away — ~2.5M barrels/day at risk, six ships turned course, Saudi-loaded tankers backed out. With Hormuz effectively closed and Bab el-Mandeb now threatened, two of the region's critical chokepoints are compromised at once.

Jul 23 — twelfth night, Brent tops $100, Tehran directly threatened — The US flew a B-1 bomber for the first time this phase of the war. Brent crossed $100/bbl, up ~$13 in a week; Trump threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant, including in Tehran, every time Iran hits a ship in the strait. The Houthis moved from declaring an embargo to actually attacking Saudi-bound tankers; US forces say they've redirected 12 vessels since resuming the blockade. The House adopted a $95B war-funding package.

Jul 30 – Aug 3 — diplomacy quietly overtakes the guns — After the Jul 29-30 retaliation spike (Kuwait/Jordan/Bahrain), the story shifts from strikes to talks: Iran and Oman resume negotiating a shipping-route framework, with both sides describing coordinates as agreed by Aug 4-5. CENTCOM maintains the blockade throughout — 49 vessels redirected in total since mid-July.

Aug 5-6 — framework in final drafting, awaiting Khamenei — Iran’s FM spokesman Baghaei says the route’s geographic coordinates are agreed and a joint statement is in final drafting; Iranian and Omani negotiators tell AP the draft awaits Khamenei’s personal sign-off. Deputy FM Gharibabadi says ships would transit Iranian waters on both inbound and outbound legs — a shift from earlier inbound-Iran/outbound-Oman reporting — which US officials say they will not accept if it leaves Iran in control. Iran’s Parliament separately drafts a bill barring US- and Israel-linked vessels outright. Traffic remains thin: only 29 ships crossed the strait this week, 8 on Tuesday alone, per Kpler.