On September 1-2, 2026, the U.S. military completed a second day of strikes on Iranian military targets around the Strait of Hormuz, saying they answered Iranian attempts to attack shipping and U.S. service members; Iran retaliated against U.S. assets in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq. Reporting since has established that oil flows recovered, with Kepler data showing Hormuz flow rising from about 6 million barrels a day in August to roughly 10 million in September and the Wall Street Journal reporting Middle East crude exports back at pre-war levels. What remains contested is the shipping war itself: Iranian claims of 19 ships struck were contradicted by satellite imagery, BBC Verify counted 12 strikes in one week with at least 24…