# US Strikes on Iran Enter Seventh Night as Tehran Hits Gulf Targets, Keeping a War Premium in Oil

Iran said it struck American assets in Kuwait and Jordan a week after a ceasefire collapsed, and Pakistan raised diesel prices about 31 rupees a litre, citing the higher global crude cost.

- Published: 2026-07-18T05:29:01.740Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-07-18/us-strikes-on-iran-enter-seventh-night-as-tehran-hits-gulf-t
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2016426/iran-renews-attacks-on-gulf-states-after-seventh-consecutive-night-of-us-strikes), [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/west-asia-war-us-strikes-iran-tehran-hits-usa-military-sites-in-kuwait-jordan-live-updates-july-18-2026/article71236973.ece), [Deutsche Welle](https://www.dw.com/en/iran-threatens-full-scale-offensive-if-us-keeps-bombing/live-78015388), [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/7/18/a-seventh-night-of-us-strikes-cuts-water-to-villages-in-irans-south)

The war between the United States and Iran widened overnight. Iran launched renewed attacks on American allies in the Gulf after a seventh straight night of US strikes on Iranian military sites, [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2016426/iran-renews-attacks-on-gulf-states-after-seventh-consecutive-night-of-us-strikes), one week after a fragile ceasefire fell apart. The escalation targeted logistics and supply infrastructure on both sides.

The two governments describe the same night differently. Iran said it struck American targets in Kuwait and Jordan and accused US forces of hitting civilian infrastructure, including an airport, a railway station and two bridges, [according to The Hindu's live coverage](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/west-asia-war-us-strikes-iran-tehran-hits-usa-military-sites-in-kuwait-jordan-live-updates-july-18-2026/article71236973.ece). Al Jazeera reported that the US bombed bridges and energy infrastructure in Iran's south, [cutting water to several villages](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/7/18/a-seventh-night-of-us-strikes-cuts-water-to-villages-in-irans-south). An Iranian general warned that no border would be safe if the strikes continue, while Washington [rejected Tehran's claim](https://www.dw.com/en/iran-threatens-full-scale-offensive-if-us-keeps-bombing/live-78015388) that two oil tankers exploded near the Strait of Hormuz, the channel that carries a large share of the world's seaborne crude.

The economic effect is already visible far from the fighting. Pakistan raised petrol prices by 5.44 rupees and diesel by 31.05 rupees per litre for a three-day window, [explicitly citing higher import premiums and global prices](https://www.dawn.com/news/2016247/govt-increases-petrol-price-by-rs544-diesel-by-rs31-05-per-litre-for-next-3-days) tied to the renewed regional tensions. That is how a conflict priced as a risk premium in crude reaches households that are nowhere near the fighting.

## What this means

The mechanism is the geopolitical risk premium in crude. Every night of strikes on energy and shipping infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz reprices the risk of a supply disruption, and that premium flows into refined-fuel costs for import-dependent economies first. Oil producers and tanker owners gain revenue and freight rates, while deficit-run importers such as Pakistan lose through a wider fuel-import bill and imported inflation that pressures their currencies and central banks.

## What to watch

- Whether traffic and insurance rates through the Strait of Hormuz stay open or tighten, because a genuine closure, rather than the threat of one, is what turns a premium into a supply shortage.
- Fuel-subsidy and price decisions in other import-heavy economies after Pakistan's increase, which would show the premium spreading into consumer prices region by region.