Hormuz clashes escalate as efforts to end Iran war stall
Theo Al Jazeera English
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says an ultra-large crude tanker hit a sea mine and caught fire while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on an unauthorized route with its transponder off, warning other tankers that ignore the waterway's 'security and rules' will meet the same fate. CENTCOM, meanwhile, says it disabled a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman to enforce the US naval blockade, as attacks around the strategic shipping lane escalate and peace talks stay deadlocked.
Tehran, Iran – Attacks around the strategic Strait of Hormuz have surged again as mediation efforts to end the US-Israeli war with Iran remain deadlocked.
The naval force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said late Saturday that an unnamed ultra-large crude tanker struck a sea mine and burst into flames as it traveled an unauthorized route through the strait with its positioning system switched off. In its statement, the IRGC warned that any oil tanker "that wants to ignore the security and rules" of the strait would meet a similar fate. In peacetime, the waterway carries as much as one-fifth of the world's oil and gas.
On Sunday, a senior Iranian military official told state television that the country's forces remain ready for both defensive and offensive operations, more than seven months after the US and Israel opened the war with an attack on Iran on Feb. 28.
"We struck the enemy's ship. If Iran continues to be attacked, we will strike again," said Habibollah Sayyari, chief of staff and joint forces coordinator for Iran's military.
The remarks came after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported multiple incidents involving military action or warnings against vessels at the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman over the previous day. UKMTO said captains in the Ras al-Khaimah area of the United Arab Emirates were ordered by radio to move from their anchorages overnight. On Sunday afternoon, UKMTO further reported that an unidentified object struck a tanker leaving the Strait of Hormuz.
The UAE separately said its coast guard rescued 22 sailors after a fire broke out aboard an unnamed tanker near its coast, but did not determine the cause of the blaze.
Early Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) released video of a fighter jet bombing the stern of a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, crippling its propulsion system to enforce the US naval blockade on southern Iranian ports.
Since the US reimposed the blockade in mid-July, CENTCOM says its forces have disabled four commercial vessels, turned back 135 ships and destroyed 10 Iran-linked oil tankers. Washington insists Tehran has been unable to export any oil through the blockade line.
The developments follow the week ending Oct. 5, which saw at least a dozen ships attacked — the highest number since the war began. At least one vessel was hit off the coast of northern Qatar, showing the danger has spread beyond the immediate Hormuz corridor as Iran and the US vie for control.
The attacks on ships appear to have curbed energy flows that had surpassed pre-war levels earlier in the month. Data from Kpler cited by CNBC on Friday showed average crude volumes through the strait in the week ending Oct. 7 stood at 8.5 million barrels per day, down roughly 40 percent from normal levels.
To reopen the strait and reach a settlement to the war, Iran is demanding a return to a collapsed memorandum of understanding agreed in June, along with Washington's support for a completed Iran-Oman agreement providing coordinated temporary entry and exit routes for vessels through the strait.
Messages are still being exchanged between the two sides through mediators, but no breakthrough is expected in the coming weeks before US midterm elections expected on Nov. 3 and Israeli elections expected on Oct. 27.
US Vice President JD Vance said last week that Iran must scale back its uranium enrichment capacity "significantly" to end the war, signaling possible flexibility on the US's frequently repeated demand that no enrichment be allowed on Iranian soil.
Tehran has said a nuclear deal could include diluting highly enriched uranium as part of a later phase of negotiations, but stresses it will not give up enrichment entirely.
"The achievements of our indigenous nuclear industry cannot be halted," Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's nuclear agency, said Sunday, indicating that power generation is the main purpose.
He also repeated criticism of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for failing to condemn repeated US threats to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities again.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told reporters Sunday that Iranian officials intend to use both military and diplomatic means to achieve their goals.
"The Islamic Republic will resolutely pursue its national interests," he said. "If those interests can be secured through diplomacy, that is far better, but if not, we will take them on the battlefield."
