Tanker attacked off Qatar as Iran says route carrying oil through Strait of Hormuz will be ‘closed’ | US-Israeli war against Iran

An oil tanker sailing off the northern coast of Qatar was attacked, causing an unknown number of casualties, a British maritime security agency said. The attack came as Iran said it would close a route through the Strait of Hormuz used to bypass Tehran’s traffic blockade.

The ship was in the Gulf, about 500 km (300 miles) west of the Strait of Hormuz, when it reported being hit “by several projectiles”, UK Maritime Commercial Operations said on Wednesday. British authorities have not specified the origin of the ship.

Wednesday’s attack comes as strikes on oil tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest weekly level since the start of Iran’s war, according to maritime security firms, as oil prices soared above $100 a barrel.

In the week to October 5, there were at least 12 attacks on tankers, liquefied tankers and gas tankers around the strait, according to data from three security sources.

On Tuesday, India’s foreign ministry said 12 crew members were injured after an attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Attacks, attempted attacks and harassment activities, including drone overflights and surveillance by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, have persisted in the strait, a US Navy-led agency said on Sunday.

“These actions continue to demonstrate Iran’s intention to assert its presence along key transit routes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels,” the Joint Maritime Information Center said.

Ships sailing in the Gulf and those attempting to transit the strait, the only way for ships to enter or exit the oil-rich region, have been the target of repeated attacks since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

On Wednesday, Tehran said it would further choke Hormuz, saying transit routes across the strait deemed illegal by Iran would soon be closed, referring to a southern route running along the coast of Oman.

Mohammadreza Naqdi, an adviser to the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said these “few roads” were created by blasting and damage to some rocky passages and were used by “small boats smuggling oil and transferring it to tankers,” despite evidence that Gulf oil exports are returning to pre-war levels.

“The Strait of Hormuz is closed and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have full control over it,” he told Fars news agency.

The IRGC has consistently denied that seaborne crude oil flows across the strait are rebounding with help from the U.S. Navy. IRGC adviser Majid Mirahmadi said Thursday that a daily average of 10 ships transited the waterway compared to an average of 125 before the war.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disputed that version on Wednesday, saying Iran had “lost complete control” of the strait. “There is almost as much oil flowing today as there was before this conflict started. »

Amid mixed messages and supply concerns, oil prices rose on Wednesday, with Brent crude surging above $100 a barrel.

The continuing stalemate in the war is putting increased pressure on Donald Trump. The US president is reportedly considering resuming military operations against Iran in the coming weeks, including the possibility of launching strikes before the November midterm elections, according to US media reports.

Last week, a third American aircraft carrier set sail for the region. This could mean three carriers would be in the region as early as the end of October.

Due to Trump’s war on Iran, Americans are struggling with high gasoline prices and soaring diesel prices.

The United States has implemented its own counter-blockade of Iranian ports and occasionally fires on ships linked to Tehran. It has also bombed Iranian targets in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on shipping, although no such strikes have been reported since September 1.

Hormuz is vital to the global economy, with around a fifth of the planet’s oil and liquefied natural gas passing through the strait before the start of the war.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse