Iran and the United States have reported their largest wave of retaliatory attacks on shipping since their conflict began six months ago, further disrupting tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz and driving oil prices higher.
Iran said on September 9 that it had attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers attempting to cross an area of the strait that Tehran has declared off-limits. The action followed overnight US strikes that Washington said destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.
Context: Strait of Hormuz Intelligence File · UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) · Strait of Hormuz · Red Sea
US Central Command described the tanker strikes as a response to two attempted ballistic missile attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against a US Navy warship during the previous two days. The United States said no American personnel were harmed.
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Operational context
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would continue targeting Iranian tankers in response to attempts to strike US naval vessels. The policy was first applied on September 5, when the United States said it had hit three tankers.
The Revolutionary Guards warned that Iran would intensify its response to further attacks. They also said Tehran would publish maps of a significantly expanded maritime exclusion zone extending towards the Arabian Gulf off Chabahar, near Iran’s border with Pakistan.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that several merchant ships had been struck by disabling fire in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman. UKMTO said it could not immediately confirm casualties or the environmental consequences. One vessel was reported listing after being hit by a projectile off Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates.
In Iraqi waters, two port officials said the tanker New Andros, carrying 2 million barrels of fuel oil, caught fire after a drone strike. No casualties were reported among its 22 crew members. A maritime security source separately reported damage to a liquefied natural gas tanker at the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan.
What it means for maritime operators
Iran has also threatened tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a statement carried by Iranian state media.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handled about one-fifth of global oil supplies before the war, has been heavily restricted. Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and says it has helped guide numerous tankers through the waterway. Independent monitoring has become increasingly difficult, however, and preliminary data showed only six vessels crossing with their transponders operating during the latest 24-hour period.
The escalation sent Brent crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since July. Average US retail diesel prices also reached a record level above $5.94 per gallon.
Additional uncertainty has emerged in the Red Sea region as fighting intensifies between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The Houthis have threatened Saudi shipping and attacked four Saudi cities on September 8, causing fires at oil facilities and injuring 73 people, according to Saudi authorities.