NPR News: 07-13-2026 2AM EDT

Dale Willman· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. U.S. Central Command says the latest U.S. attacks on Iran have ended. They were one of a series of strikes launched after Iran fired on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The initial attacks a prompt, uh, prompted Iran to strike several Middle Eastern countries, and Kuwait now reports that its air defenses are firing as Iran attacks that country. NPR's Shannon Bond reports.

Shannon Bond0:26

Iran fired at and disabled a commercial container ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. It said ships were attempting to, quote, "travel along an unapproved route." Tehran said the strait is closed to transit entirely amid the latest round of hostilities with the U.S., but President Trump rejected that claim speaking to NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

Donald Trump· Soundbite0:46

It's open. We bombed the hell out of them last night.

Shannon Bond0:50

U.S. Central Command says it's striking targets in Iran in retaliation to, quote, "continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz." Shannon Bond, NPR News.

Dale Willman· Host1:03

Republican Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell has for the first time said what led to his hospitalization this year. In a statement Sunday, the eighty-four-year-old said he was hospitalized four weeks ago f- after a fall. He said his long silence came because he was hesitant to share what he called the vulnerability that comes with being older. He is still not returning to the Senate yet, but he is working with his staff. Friends of Republican Senator