Strait of Hormuz attacks intensify as vessel incidents spread across Gulf of Oman

Attacks and warnings involving commercial shipping have intensified around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, according to reports from the area on Sunday. An unnamed crude oil supertanker was said to have hit a naval mine and suffered a major fire while using an unauthorised route with its navigation systems turned off. Separate reports also described an unidentified projectile striking a tanker heading outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, while another vessel was disabled in the Gulf of Oman.

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The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said the supertanker had ignored the "security and rules" of the strategic waterway and warned that any oil tanker that did the same could face a similar fate. A senior Iranian army official, Habibollah Sayyari, said the country's forces remained ready for both defensive and offensive operations. He also said Iranian forces had struck enemy vessels and would do so again if there were further attacks against Iran.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said it had received several reports of military action or warnings against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman over the past day. It said ship masters near Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates were directed by radio broadcast overnight to move from their anchorages. The UAE later said its coastguard rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out on an unnamed tanker close to its shores, although it did not identify the cause.

The incidents matter because the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most sensitive shipping routes, carrying a large share of global oil and gas traffic in peacetime. Any disruption there can quickly affect energy markets, insurance costs and the movement of commercial cargo through the wider Gulf. The latest reports also come as mediated efforts to end the war involving Iran remain deadlocked, adding to the risk of further escalation at sea.

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The US Central Command said it had disabled a Panama-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman by bombing its stern and stopping its propulsion. It said the action was part of enforcing its naval blockade of Iran's southern ports. CENTCOM also said that since the blockade was reimposed in mid-July, its forces had disabled four commercial vessels, turned around 135 ships and destroyed 10 tankers linked with Iran.

What remains unclear is the full extent of the damage to the tanker reported by the IRGC Navy, the identity of the vessel struck by the projectile, and whether the separate fire off the UAE coast was linked to either incident. It is also not clear how many of the reported actions were coordinated or whether they were part of the same sequence of events. The next developments to watch are any further official statements from Iran, the UAE, UKMTO and US CENTCOM, as well as whether shipping traffic in the strait is diverted or slowed further.

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