Hormuz back in crisis mode as tanker attacks trigger US strikes
Threat level raised to severe after three vessels hit within 24 hours
Commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz has been pushed back into crisis mode after three vessel attacks within 24 hours triggered major US strikes on Iran and a sharp escalation across the Gulf.
The latest wave hit the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat and a Saudi-linked VLCC, while a third tanker was struck by an unknown projectile as it transited just east of the strait. The attacks reversed the fragile recovery that had followed last month's US-Iran ceasefire and the accompanying framework for shipping access. The Joint Maritime Information Center raised the Hormuz threat level to severe, warning that deliberate hostile action is likely.
US Central Command said American forces had acted to impose heavy costs for targeting commercial shipping crewed by civilians in an international waterway. Targets reportedly included air defence systems, radar sites and more than 60 small boats used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with explosions reported at Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Sirik. Washington also revoked the sanctions relief that had allowed Iran to sell oil more openly under the interim agreement.
Iran said it would take whatever measures it considered necessary. By early Wednesday, missile alerts had sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, both home to major US military facilities. At the heart of the standoff is a dispute over routing: vessels have reportedly favoured the Oman-side passage since mine hazards rendered the traditional traffic separation scheme unsafe, but Tehran insists only its approved route is safe and that it must control passage, a claim the US and Gulf Arab states reject along with any Iranian fees.
