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Three tankers were hit by explosives on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, in the latest attack on oil tankers that are at the heart of talks to end the war between the US and Iran.
The new attacks were the most in a single day since late April, according to figures from the UN International Maritime Organization. This new attack threatens to choke the flow of traffic in the crisis just as countries hope to restore normal shipping methods and ease the strain of the global economic war.
Another tanker was sailing off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said. Iran’s state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker was attacked after it ignored warnings but did not say it had been attacked.
Two other ships suffered some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued their journey, the UK Maritime agency said.
Tehran, which has repeatedly declared that its only authorized route through the strait is safe, has been accused of attacking other ships that used another route near the Omani coast.
Captain Raman Kapoor says his crew saw missiles flying overhead and explosions from nearby ships, leaving them panicked and begging to go home.
Location details provided by the UK agency show that all three attacks took place off the coast of Oman or the neighboring United Arab Emirates, making it possible that the ships were using a route close to Oman.
US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday’s attack.
Qatar condemns ‘unacceptable attack’
Another ship was carrying liquefied natural gas across the route from Limah, Oman, when a projectile hit the left engine room and caught fire, the UK Maritime Trade Operations center said.
Iranian state TV, citing anonymous sources, revealed that Tehran attacked a ship carrying natural gas from Qatar. However, there is no official claim from the Islamic Republic regarding the attack.
Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat was targeted in an “unacceptable attack” on international navigation and security. He called it a “serious and flagrant violation” of international law.
In a post on X, he said Qatar held Iran “fully legally responsible” for the attack.
The targeting of the Qatari ship “Al-Rekayyat” while passing near the Strait of Hormuz is an unacceptable attack on the security and safety of international maritime navigation, the security of global energy supplies, and a serious and clear violation of international …
– berries
Later on Tuesday, the UK Maritime agency reported that the oil tanker was struck on the left side while exiting the Omani-Emirati border. A third ship was hit by a drone in Oman, the agency said.
Iran’s joint military command warned last Thursday that all oil tankers sailing through the port must use approved methods. It also said that US military intervention in the crisis “will be met with a swift and decisive response.”
But the Joint Maritime Information Center, an international organization overseen by the US Navy, told passengers on Monday that the route around Oman “has been extended and is still available to all traffic.”
Ships heading north on the Iranian route must register with Tehran. Those going south are working with Oman and the US
Negotiations between the US and Iran are still on hold
The US is determined to press ahead with talks with Iran aimed at reopening the tide, rolling back Tehran’s controversial nuclear program and reaching a comprehensive end to the war that began in Feb. 28. The interim agreement had a problem.
Previous attacks on the crisis have sparked US retaliatory strikes against Iran and the Gulf Arab states.
In peacetime, a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through this route.
Meanwhile, talks between Iran and the US appeared to have stalled until after the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war. Mourners at his funeral have called for the death of US President Donald Trump.
Authorities flew Khamenei’s body to the Shia clerical city of Qom, where mourners paid their respects on Tuesday.
Speaking Monday at the White House, Trump warned Iran that it would need to “make a deal, or we’re going to end the job.”
“I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump said. “We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can destroy their power.”
You may have heard about the Strait of Hormuz in the news. CBC Kids News Contributor Manny Brennan exposes the rift in politics and how it affects people around the world.
Iran and the United States have agreed as part of an interim agreement to allow ships to pass without paying tolls for 60 days. But Tehran has insisted that it must control shipping lanes and eventually impose tolls for passage, which would increase decades of maritime familiarization.
The US and many Gulf Arab states say they will not allow Iran to pay to get past the crisis. An attempt by Oman and the UN to launch a new route along the coast of Oman has previously sparked attacks across the Mideast.
Data company Kpler reported that last weekend at least 108 ships crossed the route using different routes.
