By Sara Flounders 
August 21, 2026

Mobilizing the whole Iranian population for continued harsh economic sanctions, likely new rounds of bombings and a continuing state of war with the U.S. and Israel is underway in Iran. The prolonged conflict and economic standoff is centered on a strategy of determined endurance, increasing missile production in numbers and asymmetric capability and maintaining clear control of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a first step to a ceasefire, has collapsed based on U.S. violation of every point in the agreement it signed with Iran. Iran is publicly responding.

In Aug. 10, Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was appointed as the new Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). This is Iran’s top security and foreign policy body. To give his role greater authority, Rezaei, who is well known within Iran and internationally for his extensive military and political background, will serve as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s representative on the SNSC.

Iranian Parliament committees have advanced detailed strategic action plans seeking to formalize control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has confirmed its political position against any U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf. This will be a consistent position in any diplomatic talks, and all legislative moves will ban hostile foreign assets from Iran’s regional waterways. 

Iran’s Army Commander-in-Chief, Major General Amir Hatami, describes the Strait of Hormuz as a geopolitical asset for the Iranian nation that will never return to its previous status. Tracking data shows the number of commodity and commercial ships plummeting to around zero to five per day, compared to pre-conflict averages above 130.

U.S. military bases destroyed

Faced with incoming fire from U.S. military bases in the region, Iran has officially warned the feudal monarchies of the Persian Gulf, who have served as U.S. proxies for decades, that now hosting U.S. intelligence or military cooperation will make their local infrastructure vulnerable to retaliatory strikes.

Independent investigations by BBC Verify and The Wall Street Journal confirm that at least 20 sites across eight countries are damaged. Earlier investigations by CNN and The New York Times placed the minimum number between 16 and 18. (CNN, May 1; BBC, June 1; New York Times, July 22)

According to a comprehensive satellite mapping analysis by The Washington Post, more than 228 distinct U.S. military structures and assets were damaged or destroyed. (May 6) This includes extensive damage to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain. Heavy strikes at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait destroyed Patriot missile batteries, troop quarters and hangars. Most serious is the damage to the critical satellite communications terminals and high-value early warning radar arrays at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. facility in West Asia.

Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia sustained multiple strikes. The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan was hit by multiple waves of attacks, resulting in the loss of THAAD air defense radar systems, living spaces and drone shelters. The military complex at Erbil International Airport in Iraq sustained heavy damage, along with air defense infrastructure at Al Dhafra Air Base, Al Sader and Al Ruwais in the UAE.

Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, the spokesperson for the IRGC says U.S. aggression has exposed Washington’s strategic vulnerabilities, while highlighting the Islamic Republic’s growing influence over military, economic and political developments.

Iran has survived despite U.S. sanctions

Iran reminded the Trump administration that it is well experienced in coping with economic strangulation. Iran has built a modern industrialized society with a highly educated and skilled population with the ability to defend itself despite 47 years of harsh U.S. sanctions. Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has warned the U.S. that seeking to compensate for military failures through economic pressure can be defeated through national unity and cohesion.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to act as if the MOU signed with Iran does not exist, is vague and is open to endless debate, intermittent bombing, continuing sanctions and withholding of Iran’s own funds.

President Trump declared on social media that the U.S. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz, and he threatened to designate the vital global chokepoint as U.S. territory. Iran has responded forcefully, demanding the U.S. get out of the entire region.