IRGC Declares Hormuz ‘Closed’ as Attacks on Shipping Hit Wartime High
The navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has declared the Strait of Hormuz “closed”, with four tankers reported hit since Friday, one by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a small boat. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said at least ten vessels had been attacked in or near the strait since last Sunday — a weekly high since the war began — and 23 so far this month, almost double the average.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said late on Friday that 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil had passed through the strait in the past week. “Let me be clear: The Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran,” he said. Kpler put flows at 11.6 million barrels a day in the week to 13 October, about 68 per cent of the pre-war baseline. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, revived the seven-day reopening plan sent via Qatar that Trump rejected last month: “The choice is now America’s.” There are concerns that Washington could escalate after the 3 November midterms.