Three Oil Tankers Attacked in Hormuz Strait
Three oil tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on July 7, with one struck by missiles and fire near Oman's coast in what officials suspect was an Iranian operation targeting vessels using alternative shipping routes.
Three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz came under attack on July 7, the British military revealed, including one vessel off Oman's coast that was struck by missiles and caught fire at dawn local time. This marks the latest attack on shipping transiting the Persian Gulf gateway, which once carried one-fifth of the world's oil and gas in normal circumstances. Iran's state television reported that an LPG tanker was targeted after ignoring warnings, but stopped short of directly claiming responsibility. Iran has repeatedly declared that only Iranian-approved routes are safe, and is suspected of attacking multiple other vessels using alternative routes near Oman's coast. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center said the tanker was hit near Limah on the Musandam Peninsula, with gunfire damaging the vessel's port side as it attempted to proceed south from the Strait of Hormuz toward the Gulf of Oman, with officials pursuing an investigation. Anonymous sources suggested Iran attacked an oil tanker carrying natural gas from Qatar, though Iranian officials have made no formal claims about the incident. Meanwhile, Iran-US negotiations appear to be on hold until funeral ceremonies conclude for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's late Supreme Leader who was killed in February. His coffin had been on display at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran since July 4 for public mourning, before being transferred overnight on July 6 to the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, Islam's holiest city for Shia believers, as hundreds of thousands gathered to pay their respects.
