Three Tankers Hit Near Hormuz as US Blames Iran’s Guards
Three tankers were struck near the Strait of Hormuz — a crude carrier set ablaze off Oman, a Saudi-flagged tanker damaged, and the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat hit and at risk of exploding — in the first attacks on shipping since the strait reopened. A senior US official blamed missiles fired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard; Tehran has made no formal claim. Qatar called it an “unacceptable attack” on global energy security. President Trump, asked about retaliation: “I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people.”
This is the truce’s sharpest test since it was signed: strikes on three flags in one night, during Khamenei’s funeral week, with the talks paused and the succession invisible — a pattern that reads as much like factional signalling inside Iran as state policy, which is precisely what makes it dangerous. Hitting a Qatari LNG carrier crosses a new line: Qatar mediates the talks and supplies Europe’s gas, and insurance and routing decisions for Gulf transits will reprice immediately — oil jumped 3% to $74. Trump’s restraint keeps the deal alive for now. Watch for formal attribution, Iranian response to the IRGC claim, and war-risk premiums by the weekend.