By Taibat Ummi Yakubu
Global energy markets have come under fresh pressure after Iran and the United States launched their most intense attacks on shipping since the six-month-old conflict began, raising fears of a prolonged disruption to oil supplies from the Middle East.
Iran said on Wednesday that it had attacked 10 vessels around the Strait of Hormuz after the United States destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in overnight strikes.
The escalation pushed Brent crude futures above $100 a barrel for the first time since July, while the maritime violence left at least one seafarer dead and another missing.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that its response could become significantly more severe if the United States continues attacking Iranian vessels.
The force also said it would soon publish maps identifying a new restricted maritime zone stretching as far as Chabahar, close to Pakistan, signalling a potentially wider threat to commercial shipping in the region.
The latest confrontation marks a sharp reversal after weeks of relative calm, during which Washington had largely relied on economic pressure in its efforts to force Tehran to change course.
Iran also claimed it had launched ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan. Jordanian authorities said their forces intercepted 18 missiles, while two others landed in unpopulated areas without causing damage.
A US official said all American personnel at the base were safe.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, accused Iran of trying to interfere in the November US midterm elections, suggesting that Tehran was under increasing pressure.
“I think war is going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer. They’re desperate to try and affect the election,” Trump told reporters.
The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that senior White House officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had privately warned Trump that the conflict could potentially continue for the remainder of his presidency.
Reuters said it was unable to independently verify the report.
US Warns Iran Over Tanker Attacks
The US military said it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers overnight and released footage purportedly showing vessels engulfed in flames before sinking.
US Central Command said the strikes were carried out in response to attacks by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard against a US Navy warship using ballistic missiles. Washington said no American personnel were injured.
The United States has also declared that Iranian tankers could become targets whenever Iranian forces attack US warships.
“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,” Rubio said during a visit to Colombia.
Iran said its own attacks were retaliation for the US strikes, claiming it had opened fire on two American vessels and eight commercial tankers.
Seafarer Killed as Ships Come Under Fire
The violence has already taken a deadly toll on civilian shipping.
One crew member aboard the oil-products tanker Hercules Star was killed while the vessel was anchored off Dubai, according to its charterer, Peninsula. Another crew member remained missing.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported that a vessel in the area was listing after being struck by a projectile, although it was not immediately established whether the vessel was the Hercules Star.
In Iraqi waters, the New Andros, carrying about two million barrels of fuel oil, caught fire after being hit by a drone, according to two Iraqi port officials.
All 22 crew members aboard the vessel were reported safe.
The UKMTO said it had received multiple reports of merchant vessels being hit by disabling fire in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman, areas lying on either side of the Strait of Hormuz.
A maritime security source also reported damage to a liquefied natural gas tanker at the Emirati port of Khor Fakkan.
Strait of Hormuz at Centre of Global Energy Fears
The attacks have renewed concerns about the future of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically important energy corridors.
Before the war, the narrow waterway carried roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies, making any prolonged disruption potentially damaging to energy markets and economies far beyond the Middle East.
Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy, said oil flows through the strait had plunged to as little as two million barrels per day, compared with between eight million and nine million barrels per day before fighting resumed on August 30.
The disruption is also feeding directly into fuel markets.
In the United States, the average retail price of diesel climbed to a record above $5.94 per gallon on Wednesday, highlighting the growing economic consequences of the escalating conflict.
With Iran and the United States now exchanging direct attacks on both military and commercial vessels, fears are mounting that the conflict could increasingly threaten one of the world's most important energy lifelines.
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