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Tanker
attacked off Qatar as Iran claims route transporting oil through strait of
Hormuz will be ‘closed’
Oil rises
above $100 as attacks on ships hit new high, amid reports Trump is discussing
launching strikes before the US midterms
Mark
Saunokonoko
Thu 8 Oct
2026 04.15 BST
A tanker
sailing off the north coast of Qatar has been attacked, causing an unknown
number of casualties, a British maritime security agency said. The attack came
as Iran declared it would close a route in the strait of Hormuz being used to
circumvent Tehran’s blockade of traffic.
The
vessel was in the Gulf, about 500km (300 miles) west of the strait of Hormuz,
when it reported being struck “by multiple projectiles”, the UK Maritime Trade
Operations said on Wednesday. The UK authority did not specify the origin of
the ship.
Wednesday’s
attack comes as strikes on tankers sailing through the strait of Hormuz hit
their highest weekly level since the Iran
war began, according to maritime security firms, as oil prices climbed above
$100 per barrel.
In the week
to 5 October, there were at least 12 attacks on oil, liquefied natural gas and
liquefied petroleum gas tankers around the strait, according to data from three
security sources.
On
Tuesday, India’s foreign ministry said 12 crew members were injured after an
attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker passing through the strait of Hormuz.
Attacks,
attempted attacks and harassment activity including drone overflights and
surveillanceby Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have persisted in the strait, a US Navy-led agency said on Sunday.
“These
actions continue to demonstrate Iran’s intent to assert presence along key
transit lanes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels,” the Joint Maritime Information Center
said.
Ships in
the Gulf and those attempting to transit the strait, the only way in or out of
the oil-rich region for vessels, have come under repeated attack since the US
and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
On
Wednesday, Tehran said it would further choke Hormuz, declaring transit routes
in the strait deemed illegal by Iran would soon be closed, in reference to a southern pathway hugging Oman’s coast.
Mohammadreza
Naqdi, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guards’ Commander, said these “few
routes” had been created by blasting and damaging some of the rocky passages and were used by “small boats smuggling oil and
transferring it to tankers”, despite evidence Gulf oil exports
are regaining prewar levels.
“The
strait of Hormuz is closed, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of
Iran have full control over it,” he told the Fars news agency.
The IRGC
has consistently denied that seaborne crude flows in the strait are rebounding
thanks to US Navy help. IRGC adviser Majid Mirahmadi said on Thursday that a daily average of 10 ships were
transiting the waterway against an average of 125 before the war.
The US
secretary of state, Marco Rubio, disputed that account on Wednesday, saying
Iran had “lost complete control” of the strait. “There’s almost as much oil
flowing out now as there was before this conflict began.”
Amid
mixed messaging and supply concerns, the price of oil rose on Wednesday, with
Brent crude topping $100 per barrel.
The
continuing stalemate in the war is heaping pressure on Donald Trump. The US
president is reportedly considering resuming military operations against Iran
in the coming weeks, including the option of launching strikes before
November’s midterm elections, according to reports in US media.
Last
week, a third US aircraft carrier set sail for the region. It could mean that
three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October.
As a
result of Trump’s war with Iran, Americans have been grappling with high gas
prices and soaring diesel costs.
The US
has set up its own counter blockade of Iranian ports and occasionally fires on
vessels linked to Tehran. It has also bombed Iranian targets in retaliation for
Tehran’s attacks on ships, although there have been no such reported strikes
since 1 September.
Hormuz is
vital to the world economy, with around a fifth of the planet’s oil and
liquefied natural gas passing through the strait before the war began.
With
Reuters and Agence France-Presse
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