Iranian state television said Thursday that seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight after being struck by Iran or hitting naval mines, the Associated Press reported.
The report cited the Revolutionary Guard’s navy, which again threatened U.S. bases in the region if American forces keep escorting commercial ships through the strait. It did not mention casualties, and the British military’s maritime monitoring agency did not report the attacks.
The claim came days before Israel’s elections and less than two weeks before U.S. midterms, with concern growing that U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran could resume. The U.S. is sending a third aircraft carrier and thousands more troops to the region.
Oil prices rose and Asian stocks slipped on the reports. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran remains open to diplomacy but is ready to defend itself.
Sources: AP via KTAR News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Clusteringcoefficient / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
