Attacks around the strategic Strait of Hormuz have intensified amid stalled efforts to resolve ongoing hostilities between Iran and a coalition led by the United States and Israel. The latest incidents reflect heightened tensions in the vital waterway through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies transit during peacetime.
On Saturday night, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy reported that an unnamed crude oil supertanker struck a naval mine and subsequently caught fire while navigating an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz with its navigation systems reportedly turned off. The IRGC issued a warning to all oil tankers, cautioning that those who disregard the established security protocols and regulations of the waterway risk similar outcomes.
In a state television interview on Sunday, Habibollah Sayyari, chief of staff and joint coordinator of Iran’s army, described the country’s forces as prepared for both defensive and offensive operations more than seven months after the United States and Israel initiated hostilities against Iran on February 28. Sayyari asserted that Iranian forces had already struck enemy vessels and pledged further action if Iran faced additional attacks.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported several security incidents affecting vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman over the past 24 hours. Ship captains near Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates were instructed via radio broadcasts to move from their anchorages overnight. Additionally, UKMTO noted that on Sunday afternoon, an unidentified projectile struck a tanker leaving the strait.
The UAE coastguard also confirmed the rescue of 22 crew members from an unnamed tanker that caught fire near its coastline, though it did not disclose the cause of the blaze.
Early on Sunday, the United States Central Command released video footage showing a fighter jet attacking the stern of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The strike disabled the vessel’s propulsion as part of enforcement measures relating to the U.S.-led naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports.
These recent incidents underscore the escalating risks facing commercial and military ships in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints as diplomatic initiatives to end the conflict have so far failed to produce progress.