By Idriss LAWAL
For seven straight nights, the United States has maintained its strikes on infrastructure in Iran, which in turn struck U.S. allies in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has come under intense attack.
At sea, where the renewed conflict has again cut off energy supplies from the Gulf, U.S. Marines boarded a tanker near the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media reported, citing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of the strait. Still, the U.S. military labeled the report as false.
Armed men seized another vessel off Yemen, raising concern over security in the Middle East’s other big choke point for oil shipments at the mouth of the Red Sea.
ALS9O READ: BREAKING: Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again
Iran’s state television quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying that until U.S. “aggression” comes to an end, it will not be possible to export chemical fertilizers or even a “single drop of oil and gas” from the region.
The Revolutionary Guards later said four “violating” vessels that attempted to pass through the strait in recent hours were stopped through a combined missile and drone operation.
Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.
