Iran attacks another tanker in Strait of Hormuz as US strikes for 10th night
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated as the US continues strikes against Iranian military targets following attacks on American personnel. The conflict has expanded to include threats to global shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and infrastructure attacks in the Gulf region.
Why it matters
The widening conflict threatens global energy supplies and trade routes, while increasing the risk of a broader regional war involving multiple nations.
US forces bombed Iran ’s south and west after president Donald Trump said Tehran would pay dearly for the deaths of American soldiers, while Iran targeted US sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on Tuesday and a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz .
Yemen ’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.
Shipping companies loading or discharging cargo at Saudi ports could be targeted “in any location” by Houthis, according to an email sent to companies on Monday and seen by Reuters.
Oil prices gained nearly 2 per cent on the escalating cycle of attacks that has all but wrecked an interim peace agreement signed last month. But signs that Tehran and Washington want to resume diplomacy helped to limit price rises.
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