3 cargo vessels hit near Strait of Hormuz as Iran threatens to close Gulf oil chokepoint
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Tankers are seen off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 3, as Iran vows to fire on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Iran launched attacks on March 11, hitting three commercial ships in the Persian Gulf
- G-7 leaders plan to discuss opening strategic petroleum reserves; analysts warn that prolonged closure of the Straits of Hormuz will devastate the global economy.
- US-Israeli strikes have killed over 1,200 in Iran, escalating a regional conflict with attacks in Iraq, Lebanon, and vows of retaliation against US-Israeli targets.
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DUBAI – Three commercial ships took fire in the Persian Gulf on March 11 as Iran launched strikes against its oil-exporting neighbours, threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and plunging the global energy economy into crisis.
Oil prices have surged and markets have see-sawed since the end of February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into war
As the conflict entered its 12th day, all eyes were on the vital sea lane.
The leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies were to hold a video meeting later in the day to discuss opening their strategic petroleum reserves
Analysts say a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20 per cent of world oil and gas supplies and a third of its fertiliser for food production, would have a devastating effect on the world economy, particularly in Asia and Europe.
On March 10, the Pentagon said US forces carried out strikes that destroyed 16 mine-laying vessels
The Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was targeted and damaged approximately 11 nautical miles north of Omand. Photos shared by the Royal Thai Navy showed heavy black smoke billowing from the hull and superstructure of the ship, with life rafts floating in the water.
The Omani navy rescued 20 sailors, and “efforts are currently under way to rescue the remaining three crew members”, it said.
Earlier, the Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles north-west of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security sources said. Its crew members are safe and the vessel is sailing towards a safe anchorage, the sources added.
A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles north-west of Dubai, maritime security firms said. The projectile damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel’s crew were safe.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” US President Donald Trump posted on social media.
On shore, drones fell near Dubai airport, injuring four people, the city’s government said.
The Iranian military said on March 10 it launched missiles at a US base in northern Iraq, the US naval headquarters for the Middle East in Bahrain, and at Be’er Ya’akov city in central Israel.
Iran vowed on March 11 to launch strikes against US and Israeli economic targets in the region, including banks, after overnight attacks reportedly hit an Iranian bank.
“The enemy has given us free rein to target economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime,” said the military’s central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, in a statement carried by state TV.
Iranian media said US and Israeli strikes hit a bank in Tehran overnight, killing an unspecified number of employees.
Navy escorts unlikely
Mr Trump has said the US Navy could accompany tankers through the strait, but his administration acknowledged that a post by his energy secretary that briefly reassured markets by announcing a first such escort was untrue.
And experts were dubious about whether naval escorts would be enough to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to trade.
“Any escort mission would likely face persistent threats from Iranian missiles and drones, and the security risks alone could make a single transit through the strait more costly than the profit margin on the oil shipment itself,” the Soufan Center think tank said in a briefing note.
“Experts estimate that Iran’s naval mine stockpile sits anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 mines, which would further complicate any naval plan to escort commercial tankers,” it said.
The Israeli-US attacks came weeks after Iranian authorities ruthlessly crushed mass protests, although the US and Israel say they are not necessarily seeking to topple the Islamic republic.
Iranian authorities warned against dissent at home, with the country’s police chief saying protesters would be viewed and dealt with as “enemies”.
“All our forces are also ready, with their hands on the trigger, prepared to defend their revolution,” national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said in comments aired by IRIB.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former top commander in the elite Revolutionary Guards, said in an English-language social media post: “Certainly we aren’t seeking a ceasefire.”
In Iran, ordinary people were doing the best they could to adapt to living under frequent US-Israeli strikes.
“We’ve put our faith in God. For now, there’s food in the shops; every day I go to buy greens and bread, that’s all,” Tehran resident Mahvash, 70, told journalists.
“People are calm,” said another resident. “They are getting used to living despite everything and adapting – as best they can – to this situation.”
Supreme leader ‘safe and sound’
The US and Israel launched the war on Feb 28
His son, Mr Mojtaba Khamenei, has been named his successor, though he has yet to appear in public, amid reports that he has been wounded
“I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Mr Yousef Pezeshkian, son of Iran’s president, in a post.
Iran’s Health Ministry said on March 8 that more than 1,200 people have been killed in US and Israeli strikes, and more than 10,000 civilians injured.
Iraq and Lebanon, both home to Iran-backed fighters, have become proxy grounds in the war.
In Iraq, Iranian-linked groups said on March 10 that five of their fighters died in strikes they blamed on the US.
In Lebanon, hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes following Israeli air strikes and ground operations targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah.
New Israeli strikes were reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 11, with the Health Ministry saying another five people were killed in the southern town of Qana. AFP, REUTERS
