U.S. Central Command said it carried out fresh strikes on Iranian military targets early Sunday local time, hours after a Panama flagged tanker was hit by an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon said the action was a direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping and targeted surveillance, communications, air defense, drone storage and mine laying facilities.
The escalation is the worst since Washington and Tehran signed an interim peace deal two weeks ago to end a four month conflict. Each side now accuses the other of violating the agreement. President Donald Trump warned on social media that the United States may be forced to militarily complete the job it started, while Iran said it had launched defensive attacks on U.S. linked targets in the region. Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy regional headquarters, reported an Iranian drone attack.
Saturday's tanker strike followed a separate attack on a cargo ship on Thursday. Britain's UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker sustained damage to its bridge, with all crew reported safe. The Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a coalition of navies protecting shipping, raised its security threat level. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they fired warning shots at vessels using channels not approved by Tehran, and said other ships are now seeking Iranian permits before crossing the strait.
Hundreds of ships, including tankers laden with crude, had been blockaded inside the Gulf since war broke out. They began leaving over the past two weeks and oil prices tumbled close to pre war levels on the surge in supply. Washington has been promoting a southern lane along the coast of Oman, while Tehran, which ultimately aims to charge fees for use of the strait, wants ships to use a northern route through its waters and under its control.
For owners, charterers and refiners, the renewed strikes reset what had been a tentative reopening of the world's most important energy chokepoint. War risk premiums on Gulf voyages are likely to climb again, insurers will reassess routing, and any sustained mining or drone activity threatens to push freight rates back toward the spikes seen at the height of the conflict.