BY TYLER DURDEN
FRIDAY, JUL 17, 2026 – 12:25 PM
Summary
- Surge in more large US refueling planes headed to Mideast, signaling likely expansion of strikes on Iran.
- US attacks hit Iranian energy and transport infrastructure.
- Iran threatens stronger retaliation and claims strike on US base in Qatar – and deepens attacks to include US outposts in Jordan, Syria.
- Iran urges power conservation; Hormuz shipping traffic declines further.
- Oil prices rise to session highs on fears of broader regional conflict.
"The Trump administration notified Israel it is sending dozens more refueling planes to the country ahead of a potential expansion of military operations against Iran, three U.S. and Israeli officials said," reports Axios. "After he was presented with several new military plans in a Situation Room meeting Tuesday, President Trump is considering a massive offensive in Iran that would be wider in scope than the current strikes around the Strait of Hormuz." This is but the latest signal that the ceasefire and negotiations are fully dead, and the potential for runaway escalation is bigger than ever:
- OIL RISES TO SESSION HIGHS, BRENT TRADES ABOVE $87/BBL
- US YIELDS RISE TO DAY’S HIGH ON REPORTS OF US-IRAN ESCALATION
- US TO SEND DOZENS MORE REFUELING PLANES: AXIOS
War Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted Friday of taking out this Iranian maritime monitoring tower on the southern coast:
Meanwhile, another US attack on an Iranian oil tanker is being widely reported:
US forces have attacked an Iranian oil tanker docked near Iran’s Kharg Island for the second time in two days, according to an Iranian official speaking to the Fars news agency.
“The empty, Belma N.I.22 oil tanker, which was hit two days ago, was attacked again today by two US missiles”, the deputy governor of Bushehr told Fars.
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