LiveLive Updates July 16, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJuly 16, 2026UpdatesFewer vessels travel through Hormuz as U.S., Iran continue strikesFewer vessels travelled through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day after the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian ports with both countries escalating strikes across the Gulf, shipping data showed.Seven vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, mostly on the Iranian route, down from 13 the previous day, Kpler data showed.Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are keeping ships from travelling through the waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war.On Wednesday, four empty vessels entered the Gulf, including three small oil tankers and a dry bulk carrier for grains, the data showed. The three vessels that exited the strait on Wednesday carried liquefied petroleum gas, coal and fuel oil.On Tuesday, a Suezmax tanker carrying 1 million barrels of Saudi crude exited the strait with its transponder switched off, Kpler data showed.There were no Very Large Crude Carrier or liquefied natural gas tankers passing through the strait on Wednesday.U.S. military says it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran; air defenses activated in TehranThe U.S. Central Command said late on Wednesday that the U.S. military completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran that it carried out at President Donald Trump's direction."U.S. forces struck Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities," it said in a statement, adding it also hit targets in Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz.CENTCOM's statement came after the Mehr news agency reported that Iran's air defense activated in Tehran to counter "hostile threats."U.S. military disables tanker headed toward Iranian port, CENTCOM saysThe U.S. military disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X on Wednesday."The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the U.S. blockade. A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran," it added.Airlines suspend Middle East flights amid U.S.-Iran escalationSeveral international airlines have suspended or canceled flights to destinations across the Middle East amid the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran.Air Canada has canceled flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until October 24. Greece's largest carrier, Aegean Airlines, has suspended flights to Dubai until August 31 and to Erbil and Baghdad until September 30.U.S. aerial refueling aircraft parked at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, April. Credit: Tomer AppelbaumU.S. aerial refueling aircraft parked at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, April. Credit: Tomer AppelbaumAir France has suspended flights to Beirut until August 2, while KLM has halted flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until July 15.Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific said it plans to resume flights to Dubai and Riyadh from September 1.In the NewsIran Targets U.S. Army Base in Jordan After Latest Wave of American Strikes'Yearning for Zion Was Stronger Than Anything': Seven Jews' Epic 1932 JourneyHaaretz CartoonOnce Again, Netanyahu Ran Away - but He Cannot Rewrite HistoryNetanyahu's Delusional Iran Campaign Damaged Israel as Deeply as October 7Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderThe Original Tradwives of Ancient RomeEgypt Lost the World Cup. But Was the Referee Really Jewish?Eisenkot Is Quietly Gaining Ground in Likud Territory. Enough to Beat Netanyahu?Ro Khanna, U.S. Lawmaker & Israel Critic, Says West Bank Settlers 'Detained' HimRahm Emanuel Wants to Save Israel. But Are Israelis Listening?