Splash247.com — 2026-07-08
News from Brussels
Commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz has been pushed back into crisis mode after three vessel attacks in 24 hours triggered major US strikes on Iran and a sharp escalation across the Gulf.
The latest wave of attacks included the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat and a Saudi-linked VLCC, with another tanker struck by an unknown projectile while transiting just east of the strait. The sequence has reversed the fragile recovery in commercial movements that had been building since last month’s US-Iran ceasefire and shipping access framework.
The Joint Maritime Information Center has now raised the threat level for the Strait of Hormuz to “severe”, warning that “deliberate hostile action” is likely under current conditions. That marks a major deterioration from the already elevated risk environment that had left many owners, charterers and insurers treating every transit as a live security calculation.
The US responded overnight with strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. US Central Command said American forces acted “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway”. Targets reportedly included air defence systems, radar sites and more than 60 small boats used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which have played a central role in harassing ships in and around the strait.
Explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Sirik, all locations with direct relevance to Iranian operations around Hormuz. Washington also revoked the sanctions easing that had allowed Iran to sell oil more openly under last month’s interim agreement, ending a brief period in which Tehran had been permitted to conduct crude and petroleum sales more freely on international markets.
Iran has responded by warning that it will take whatever measures it deems necessary. As of early Wednesday morning, missile alerts had sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which host major US military facilities.
The tanker attacks appear to underline the unresolved route dispute at the heart of the Hormuz crisis. The vessels were reportedly using the Oman-side route that many commercial ships have preferred since mine hazards made the traditional traffic separation scheme unsafe. Tehran has repeatedly argued that only its approved route through the strait is safe and has insisted it must control vessel routing. The US and Gulf Arab states have rejected any arrangement that would allow Iran to charge fees or exercise unilateral control over passage.