Iran strikes ships, widens maritime no-go zone beyond Hormuz

Tehran announced on Wednesday that Iranian forces had attacked over a dozen ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, expanding a no-go zone beyond the strategic waterway it has blocked for months. This escalation led to oil prices surpassing $100 per barrel again, as Iran restricts the vital energy route and the United States pressures a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed to have targeted two U.S. vessels, eight oil tankers, and ten non-compliant ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that several vessels in the Gulf of Oman and Gulf faced disabling fire as part of ongoing military activity. Iran also extended its prohibited zone to include parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The Guards stated that vessels entering these areas without coordination would face sanctions. In response to the attacks on its oil tankers, Iran's Guards struck a U.S. military base in Jordan, while Jordan's army shot down 18 missiles fired at its kingdom. Iran's foreign ministry condemned the attacks on Iranian oil tankers as a threat to regional and international peace and security, while the U.S. military said it was responding to an Iranian attack against an American warship, a second incident in less than a week.

Iran's Guards suggested that a war could end if Washington met Iran's demands, including withdrawing from Lebanon, ending the blockade of Yemen, releasing $24 billion in Iran's frozen assets, and refraining from interfering in Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities. President Donald Trump suggested the war would conclude after the mid-term U.S. elections in November, citing Iran's desperation to affect the vote.

However, U.S. officials privately warned that the war could continue through the remaining two years of Trump's term. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors voted to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear "non-compliance," a move seen as additional pressure on Tehran. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran was close to collapse, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the U.S. would continue to destroy Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for any further attacks on U.S. naval ships.