US Iran Conflict: The tension between America and Iran has once again reached a dangerous point. The US on Sunday launched its third military action this week against Iran following an attack on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the action was taken in response to an attack by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the Cyprus-flagged container ship M/V GFS Galaxy.

At 7:15 pm ET today, US Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. A civilian crew…

— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 11, 2026

Ship attacked, one crew member missing

According to CENTCOM, the action started on Sunday night Indian time. In the attack, the ship caught fire and the engine room was heavily damaged, rendering it incapable of traveling further. One crew member is still reported missing. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Iran made a wrong decision, now it will have to pay the price.”

News of explosions in many cities of Iran

According to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, after the US strikes, loud explosions were heard in several cities including Asaluyeh, Bandar Abbas, Serik, Bandar Deir and Chabahar. Several blasts have also been confirmed at different places.

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Announcement of closing the Strait of Hormuz

Earlier on Sunday, IRGC had claimed that a ship tried to pass through the designated route without permission by switching off the tracking system and did not change course despite warnings. After this, firing was done as a warning. Along with this, Iran announced to close the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic until further orders. Iran warned that if America attacks again on the basis of this incident, then American bases in the region will be targeted.

Diplomatic efforts continue, but tension remains

America on Saturday publicly demanded Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacks on merchant ships. On the other hand, talks are going on in Muscat under the mediation of Oman and Qatar. Meanwhile, Iran has reiterated that America should first follow the old agreements related to Hormuz and oil export, only then further talks will be possible. Due to continuous attacks and retaliation, concern has increased in the global oil market.

Amid increasing tension with America, several explosions were heard in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. According to the information, the US Army carried out an air strike in Caracas, after which several explosions were heard throughout the city. After the air strike by the US Army, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been captured by America and both are currently in America’s custody.

After the attacks by America, Venezuela also came into discussion because Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, yet it is among the poorest countries. In such a situation, let us now tell you why Venezuela is so poor despite having the world’s largest oil reserves.

The world’s largest oil reserves, yet the situation is bad65558/

According to Al Jazeera report, Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. By 2023, Venezuela had about 303 billion barrels of oil. Despite this, Venezuela earns very little from the export of crude oil and is counted among the poor countries of the world. After Venezuela, Saudi Arabia is at second place with 267.2 barrels, followed by Iran with 208.6 barrels and Canada at third place with 163.6 barrels. These four countries together own more than half of the global oil reserves. If compared with America, America has about 55 billion barrels of oil reserves, whereas Venezuela’s reserves are five times more. Despite this, Venezuela is far behind America in oil income. A major reason for this is considered to be international restrictions and limited production.

Why is Venezuelan oil sold at low prices?

Most of Venezuela’s oil reserves are in the Orinoco Belt, where heavy and high density crude oil is found. This type of oil is expensive to extract and process. It also contains high amount of sulfur, due to which this oil is sold at a low price in the international market. The country’s state oil company PDVSA has the entire responsibility of oil production, but due to old infrastructure, lack of investment, mismanagement and international sanctions, Venezuela is not able to take full advantage of its huge oil reserves.

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