Iran Expands Hormuz Attacks After 5 Ship Incidents in 48 Hours, Threatens Full Closure
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 14
Iran Expands Hormuz Attacks After 5 Ship Incidents in 48 Hours, Threatens Full Closure
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 14
Summary
Iran has intensified attacks on commercial shipping and is moving toward a complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to vessels it says violate its restrictions, according to two senior Iranian officials.
At least five tanker and merchant-ship incidents were recorded around Hormuz in the past 48 hours, matching the October 3-5 attack rate and signaling a deliberate increase in strike tempo.
A U.S. military official said Iran, after losing much of its radar network, is using unarmed spotters in small boats and dhows to identify targets; U.S. forces destroyed one such vessel last week without casualties.
The new campaign is also spreading beyond Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman and waters off Qatar and the UAE, raising shipping and insurance costs across a route that handled about one-fifth of global oil and LNG trade before the war.
Iranian officials said the strategy is meant to keep oil prices high and shape November's U.S. midterm elections, while Washington presses a naval blockade and sanctions in a war costing about $3 billion a month.