Iran and US hit tankers in biggest wave of attacks on shipping since war began

Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.

At least one seafarer aboard a tanker was reported killed and another listed as missing. The attacks sent the price of oil surging, with the international Brent crude benchmark breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

Iran also said it had fired ballistic missiles at a base used by U.S. forces in Jordan. Attacks by both sides since the end of August have shattered a month of relative calm, with the U.S. and Iran hitting military, shipping and energy assets.

The Revolutionary Guards said they would sharply escalate their response to any further attacks, and if the enemy struck two or three Iranian targets, Iran would respond by hitting 20. Iran would soon release maps of a new, much larger off-limits zone at sea that would extend as far as the Arabian Gulf off Chabahar on the far reaches of Iran’s coast near Pakistan, the Guards said.

Recent days have also seen an escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen, a second theatre of war that threatens global energy supplies from the Middle East.

Video shows Iranian tankers ablaze

The Americans said they destroyed five Iranian oil tankers overnight, releasing video of ships ablaze before they sank. The U.S. military’s Central Command called its attacks a response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a U.S. Navy warship twice with ballistic missiles over the previous two days. No Americans were harmed, the U.S. said.

Washington has announced a new policy of attacking Iranian tankers in retaliation for fire that threatens its warships. Iran says it is using new, more capable missiles to attack U.S. ships.

“Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia.

After Iran announced its strikes in response, saying it fired on two U.S. ships and eight tankers, reports indicated vessels had been hit in waters near several neighbouring countries.

One seafarer was killed aboard the oil products tanker Hercules Star while at anchorage off Dubai and another crew member was missing, the vessel’s charterer, Peninsula, said. Maritime security sources said it may have been hit by a drone.

Pictured here on Feb. 21, 2020, the vessel then named the Axel Spirit, which has since been renamed the M/T Kaviz, is among the Iranian crude oil carriers that U.S. Central Command says it struck after attempted Iranian missile attacks on a U.S. Navy warship. (Taketo Fuchi/Reuters)

The British maritime security agency UKMTO described a vessel in the vicinity that was listing, possibly taking on water after being struck by a projectile. Reuters could not immediately determine whether this referred to the same ship. Two Iraqi port officials said a tanker carrying 2 million barrels of fuel oil, the New Andros, had caught fire after being struck by a drone in Iraqi waters. There were no reports of casualties among the 22 crew.

The UKMTO said it had received reports of several merchant ships struck by disabling fire in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman, on either side of the strait. It was not immediately able to confirm casualties or environmental impact.

Iran also threatened oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, according to a statement carried by state media. A maritime security source reported a liquefied natural gas tanker was damaged in the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan.

The IRGC also said on Wednesday it had fired ballistic missiles at a base used by U.S. forces near Al Azraq, in eastern Jordan. Jordan said its air defences had intercepted 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles, with two falling in unpopulated areas and no casualties. A U.S. official said Iran’s strikes in Jordan were ineffective and all American troops were accounted for.

Video filmed in Ash-Shajarah, in northern Jordan, and verified by Reuters showed flashes lighting up the night sky.

Iran has largely choked off transit through the strait that carried a fifth of global oil before the war.

Washington has responded with a blockade of Iranian ports, and says it has been able to guide many tankers through the strait, although independent monitors say the extent to which oil is escaping has become increasingly difficult to assess. Preliminary data showed just six ships crossing with transponders on over the last 24 hours.

Escalating combat between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls most populated parts of Yemen has created additional uncertainty for energy markets. A Saudi-backed government based in the south of Yemen has launched a multi-pronged assault on areas controlled by the Houthis, who have threatened Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

On Tuesday, the Houthis launched an attack on four cities in Saudi Arabia, causing huge fires at oil installations that were visible from space. Saudi authorities said 73 people were wounded. The Saudi Press Agency released footage showing homes severely damaged and injured patients in hospital.

A source in Pakistan, which signed a mutual defence pact with Riyadh last month, said Saudi Arabia had carried out retaliatory strikes on Yemen. The Houthis say dozens of people have been killed in Saudi airstrikes, which Saudi Arabia has not confirmed.

伊朗周三表示，在美国击沉五艘伊朗油轮后，伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡附近袭击了十艘船只。这是自这场持续六个月的战争开始以来，双方公开宣布的最大规模的以牙还牙式的海上袭击。

据报道，至少有一名油轮上的海员遇难，另有一人失踪。袭击事件导致油价飙升，国际布伦特原油基准价格自7月以来首次突破每桶100美元。

伊朗方面也声称向驻约旦美军基地发射了弹道导弹。自8月底以来，美伊双方的袭击打破了此前一个月的相对平静，双方都对军事、航运和能源设施发动了攻击。

伊朗革命卫队表示，他们将大幅升级对任何进一步袭击的回应；如果敌人袭击两三个伊朗目标，伊朗将以20个目标作为回应。革命卫队还表示，伊朗很快将公布一张新的、更大的海上禁区地图，该禁区将一直延伸到靠近巴基斯坦的伊朗海岸线远端的恰巴哈尔附近的阿拉伯湾。

最近几天，沙特阿拉伯和也门胡塞武装之间的战斗也升级了，这是威胁中东全球能源供应的第二个战场。

视频显示伊朗油轮起火

美国方面称，他们连夜摧毁了五艘伊朗油轮，并公布了油轮在沉没前燃烧的视频。美国中央司令部称，此次袭击是对伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队此前两天两次用弹道导弹袭击美国海军军舰的回应。美国方面表示，没有美国人伤亡。

华盛顿宣布了一项新政策，即攻击伊朗油轮，以报复伊朗向美国军舰开火的行为。伊朗则表示，它正在使用新型、性能更强的导弹攻击美国舰船。

“伊朗不断试图袭击美国海军舰艇，他们每次这样做或试图这样做，都会损失油轮，”美国国务卿马可·卢比奥在访问哥伦比亚期间告诉记者。

伊朗宣布对两艘美国船只和八艘油轮发动袭击作为回应后，有报道称，一些船只在几个邻国附近的水域遭到袭击。

据该船租船方半岛航运公司称，一艘名为“大力神之星”号的成品油轮在迪拜附近锚地抛锚时，一名海员遇难，另一名船员失踪。海事安全部门消息人士称，该船可能遭到无人机袭击。

图中这艘当时名为“阿克塞尔精神号”（Axel Spirit）的油轮，后更名为“卡维兹号”（M/T Kaviz），拍摄于2020年2月21日。美国中央司令部称，在伊朗试图用导弹袭击美国海军军舰后，他们击沉了包括这艘油轮在内的多艘伊朗原油运输船。（Taketo Fuchi/路透社）

英国海事安全机构UKMTO称，附近有一艘船只倾斜，可能被炮弹击中后进水。路透社目前尚无法确定这是否指同一艘船。两名伊拉克港口官员表示，一艘载有200万桶燃油的油轮“新安德罗斯”号在伊拉克水域被无人机击中后起火。船上22名船员均无人员伤亡报告。

英国海上运输办公室（UKMTO）表示，已收到报告称，在波斯湾北部和阿曼湾，海峡两侧，有多艘商船遭到火灾袭击，失去行动能力。目前尚无法确认人员伤亡或环境影响。

据官方媒体发表的声明称，伊朗还威胁科威特和巴林港口的油轮。一位海事安全消息人士报告称，一艘液化天然气油轮在阿联酋豪尔法坎港受损。

伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队周三还表示，他们向位于约旦东部阿兹拉克附近的一处美军基地发射了弹道导弹。约旦方面称，其防空系统拦截了20枚伊朗导弹中的18枚，其中两枚落入无人区，未造成人员伤亡。一位美国官员表示，伊朗对约旦的袭击无效，所有美军士兵均已清点完毕。

路透社证实，在约旦北部沙贾拉拍摄的视频显示，夜空中出现闪光。

伊朗基本上切断了通过霍尔木兹海峡的石油运输，而战前全球五分之一的石油都经由该海峡运输。

华盛顿方面已对伊朗港口实施封锁，并声称已成功引导多艘油轮通过霍尔木兹海峡。但独立监测机构表示，石油泄漏的规模越来越难以评估。初步数据显示，过去24小时内仅有6艘开启应答器的船只通过该海峡。

沙特阿拉伯与控制也门大部分人口稠密地区的伊朗支持的胡塞武装之间的冲突不断升级，给能源市场带来了更多不确定性。一个由沙特支持的、位于也门南部的政府对胡塞武装控制区发动了多路进攻，胡塞武装威胁到沙特在红海的航运安全。

周二，胡塞武装袭击了沙特阿拉伯的四座城市，导致石油设施发生巨大火灾，从太空都能看到。沙特当局称，73人受伤。沙特通讯社发布的视频显示，房屋严重受损，伤者正在医院接受治疗。

巴基斯坦消息人士称，沙特阿拉伯已对也门发动报复性空袭。巴基斯坦上个月与沙特阿拉伯签署了共同防御条约。胡塞武装称，沙特空袭造成数十人死亡，但沙特阿拉伯尚未证实这一说法。