The maritime front has become more heated in the Iran-America-Israel war. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Thursday that its navy had launched a missile attack on an American oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf. According to the IRGC, the ship was attacked and is currently burning.
This attack is the answer to America’s ‘aggression’
According to Iranian state media Mehr News, the IRGC said that this attack is a response to America’s ‘aggression’ and that military or commercial ships of America, Israel or the European countries supporting them will not be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. If such ships are seen, they will be targeted. IRGC reiterated that during the war, control over the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran.
The threat to shipping in the Gulf will increase greatly
This incident happened a few hours after an American submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean. That ship was returning from India’s MILAN 2026 Naval Exercise and it is feared that more than 100 crew members may have died. The IRGC described it as an attack ‘without warning’ and said that it was a tit-for-tat action.
What did America say on IRGC’s claim?
Till now there has been no confirmation of this attack from America. The US has previously described Iranian claims as ‘fake news’, but if this proves to be true then the threat to shipping in the Gulf will increase greatly. 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz and several tankers have already been attacked.
Iran had earlier also claimed that it hit 3 American-British tankers and ‘closed’ the strait. But America has destroyed Iran’s navy. Sunk more than 20 ships, including the Sulaimani class. CENTCOM says that Iran’s Navy has now become a ‘memory’.
