Iran says it struck a supertanker in Strait of Hormuz as ship attacks rise
The Revolutionary Guards said on Monday, 12 October, that a supertanker was hit and set ablaze after ignoring warnings, without naming the ship or its flag. The British agency UKMTO had logged four separate ship strikes near the strait the day before.
The Revolutionary Guards' claim
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday, 12 October, that it had hit another supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the IRGC navy, the vessel tried to pass through the strait with its navigation system switched off and ignored warnings from Iranian forces. The ship was said to have caught fire after the strike. Iran did not give the vessel's name or flag. The claim came after attacks on ships in the region had intensified in the preceding days.
A warning to shipping
On Sunday, 11 October, Admiral Ali Ozmai, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' navy, warned that any vessel switching off its navigation systems while passing through the strait would be treated as hostile. He said such a ship would face an Iranian response. The warning was directed at all ships passing through the waterway. The IRGC's account of the 12 October strike uses the same framing: a ship with its navigation off that ignored warnings from Iranian forces.
Four incidents and attacks beyond the strait
The British maritime security agency UKMTO reported four separate incidents on Sunday, 11 October, in which vessels were hit in the area of the Strait of Hormuz. It is unclear whether any of these reports concern the ships named in Iranian statements, so the UKMTO count and the IRGC account have not been matched to the same vessels. Attacks were also reported outside the strait. On Friday, 9 October, a tanker anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates was hit. On Saturday, 10 October, a US fighter jet attacked a merchant ship flying the Panamanian flag in the Gulf of Oman. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the vessel had left an Iranian port and tried to break the American maritime blockade while ignoring warnings. A missile struck the ship's stern and disabled its propulsion, and the US military said no crew member was injured.
- Tanker anchored off the United Arab Emirates is hit
- US fighter jet strikes a Panama-flagged merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman
- UKMTO reports four separate ship strikes near the Strait of Hormuz; Admiral Ali Ozmai warns ships with navigation systems off
- IRGC says it hit a supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz that caught fire
Why the strait matters
Iran began blocking traffic in the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israeli attack on Iran that started on 28 February. In response, the US began a blockade of Iranian ports and escorts tankers through the strait along a route outside the one set by Iran. Part of the strait lies within Omani territorial waters, and Oman is a US ally. The number of tankers passing through has risen recently but has not returned to its level before 28 February. Before the war, about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the strait.
A final agreement ending the war between the US and Iran has not been reached, and the future of the strait is one of the points of disagreement. Iran wants its sovereignty over the waterway recognised. The United States would prefer, as before the war, that the strait be treated as an international shipping route. Both positions remain unresolved in the reporting, and the shipping attacks have continued alongside the talks.
