Iran, US escalate tanker attacks in biggest shipping assault since war began

International, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel (NPA) — Iran and the United States have carried out their largest declared wave of retaliatory attacks on commercial shipping since the six-month-old war began, with Tehran claiming strikes on 10 vessels after the U.S. military destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.

The escalation has intensified concerns over the security of one of the world’s most important energy corridors, sending oil prices higher and pushing Brent crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

At least one seafarer was reported killed and another missing following the attacks, while several vessels were reported damaged or set ablaze in waters around the Gulf.

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According to Reuters, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the destruction of five Iranian oil tankers by U.S. forces.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it destroyed the five Iranian tankers overnight, releasing video footage showing vessels ablaze before sinking.

Washington said the attacks were carried out in response to what it described as two Iranian ballistic-missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the preceding two days. The U.S. military said no American personnel were injured.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Washington’s policy of targeting Iranian tankers in response to attacks against American naval assets.

“Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” Rubio said during a visit to Colombia, according to Reuters.

Iran, meanwhile, warned that it would significantly intensify its response to any further attacks.

The Revolutionary Guards said that if Iran came under attacks against two or three targets, it would respond by striking 20 targets. The IRGC also said it would soon release maps showing a new and much larger maritime exclusion zone extending towards the Arabian Gulf from Iran’s coast near Chabahar, close to the Pakistani border.

The latest attacks have reportedly affected shipping lanes and vessels operating near several countries bordering the Gulf.

A seafarer aboard the oil-products tanker Hercules Star was killed while the vessel was at anchor off Dubai, while another crew member was reported missing, according to the vessel’s charterer, Peninsula. Maritime security sources said the ship may have been hit by a drone.

The British maritime security agency, UKMTO, also reported that a vessel in the vicinity was listing and possibly taking on water after being struck by a projectile. Reuters said it could not immediately establish whether the report referred to the Hercules Star.

In Iraqi waters, two port officials said the tanker New Andros, carrying about two million barrels of fuel oil, caught fire after being struck by a drone. None of its 22 crew members was reported injured.

UKMTO said it had received reports of several merchant vessels being struck by disabling fire in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman, on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz. The agency said it was unable to immediately confirm the number of casualties or determine the environmental impact.

Iran also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a statement carried by Iranian state media. A maritime security source separately reported damage to a liquefied natural gas tanker at the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan.

The escalation has raised fresh concerns about the flow of global energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.

Iran has largely restricted transit through the strait since the war began, while Washington has responded with a blockade of Iranian ports. The United States says it has been able to guide a number of tankers through the waterway, although independent monitors have said it has become increasingly difficult to determine the actual volume of oil leaving the region.

Preliminary tracking data showed only six ships crossing the strait with their transponders switched on during the previous 24 hours, according to the Reuters report.

The shipping crisis has been compounded by a separate escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen.

The Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s populated territory, have threatened Saudi shipping, while a Saudi-backed government based in the south has launched a multi-pronged offensive against Houthi-held areas.

On Tuesday, the Houthis launched attacks on four Saudi cities, causing major fires at oil installations that were reportedly visible from space. Saudi authorities said 73 people were wounded and released footage showing damaged homes and injured people receiving treatment in hospitals.

A Pakistani source said Saudi Arabia had carried out retaliatory strikes against Yemen. The Houthis claimed that dozens of people had been killed in Saudi airstrikes, although Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the reported death toll.

The combined developments have added further uncertainty to global energy markets and heightened fears that continued attacks on shipping could disrupt oil and gas supplies beyond the immediate conflict zone.

The latest escalation underscores the growing international consequences of the conflict, as attacks on commercial vessels threaten not only regional maritime security but also the stability of global energy markets.

Newpost Africa reports that with the Strait of Hormuz already under severe restrictions and fighting spreading across new fronts, governments and maritime authorities face mounting pressure to keep vital shipping lanes open while preventing the conflict from escalating further and driving oil prices—once below $100—sharply upward.