Iran Threatens to Keep Strait of Hormuz Shut as Shipping Attacks Kill 6
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 12
Iran Threatens to Keep Strait of Hormuz Shut as Shipping Attacks Kill 6
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 12
Summary
Four crew on the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah and two Yemeni rescuers were killed in a suspected Houthi strike in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the first reported shipping deaths since the Iran war began.
Iran then signaled no quick de-escalation: security official Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed unless Washington releases frozen Iranian assets and backs an end to regional conflicts including in Lebanon and Gaza.
The U.S. military separately said a Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged cargo ship off Pakistan after it ignored warnings over a blockade on Iranian ports.
Brent crude settled up 1.4% at $88.91 a barrel and U.S. crude rose 1.3% to $83.20 as renewed attacks at the Gulf of Oman and Red Sea chokepoints darkened hopes for a near-term peace deal.
The tougher rhetoric contrasted with Donald Trump's repeated claims that an agreement is near, even as he demanded compensation from Iran and warned Tehran could be hit "really, really hard."
With insurance costs surging and traffic plummeting, who truly controls the world's most critical oil chokepoints amid the escalating US-Iran naval blockade?
As double-tap missile strikes claim civilian lives in the Red Sea, will the global economy survive the strangulation of Middle Eastern energy routes?
Can a massive 400 million-barrel reserve release prevent a global energy crisis as naval warfare chokes off the Strait of Hormuz?