Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said on Monday that its forces struck another oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and said that it was the third ship it had hit in two days.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations has said that it recorded four separate attacks on Sunday alone, suggesting that there have been more strikes than the IRGC has taken credit for. It also recorded at least three attacks on October 9 and October 10.
Attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have hit their highest since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, and the amount of oil leaving the Persian Gulf through the strait has declined.
The IRGC Navy released footage that it said showed the vessel that was hit on Monday. It said the ship was struck while attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz despite warnings from the IRGC.
“Any cooperation by commercial vessels and oil tankers with the US terrorist, smuggling, aggressor, and plundering military in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf will face our decisive response,” The IRGC Navy said in a statement, according to Iran’s Press TV.
The US also bombed a ship in the region on October 10, with US Central Command announcing a strike on a cargo vessel that it said departed an Iranian port and attempted “to run” the US blockade. The strike marked the first known US bombing of a commercial ship in the region since early September, when it launched a series of strikes against Iranian oil tankers.
All signs are pointing to another escalation in the war, as there’s been no sign of progress in the indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran, and US media has been reporting that President Trump is considering launching a series of strikes against Iran either before or after the November 3 US midterm elections.
