A Tug Is Struck as Hormuz Attacks Hit a Weekly Record
At least ten vessels have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz since last Sunday, the highest weekly figure since the war began, with twenty-three recorded this month. A tug off the United Arab Emirates reported being struck by two projectiles this morning, sustaining damage and one minor casualty, and is continuing on its route.
Two tankers said to be carrying about two million barrels of crude each caught fire after striking naval mines. That account is the Revolutionary Guard’s own, relayed through Iranian state media, and no approved source has confirmed the mines, the fires or its further claim that one vessel was crossing “with US support”; the ships have not been named. The Guard says both had switched off positioning and radar and were using a route it had not authorised, and its naval commander warned this week that any vessel deactivating its navigation systems would be treated as hostile. The effect on prices is not in doubt: oil reached $110 on Friday for the first time since May and closed the week nearly four per cent higher. Saudi Arabia says two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Khamis Mushait and a drone aimed at Riyadh were intercepted, and that residents of the capital received a phone alert warning of “a hostile aerial threat” before it was lifted minutes later. Separately a national guard helicopter crashed in Najran killing two officers, which the Saudi coalition attributes to a technical malfunction rather than enemy action.