The United States Army has announced that it intercepted two Iranian supertankers that tried to evade its blockade. President Trump also threatened to attack any Iranian vessel participating in the mining of the Strait of Hormuz. while Washington continues to hinder the Islamic Republic’s shipments.
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Officially, the ceasefire between the United States remains in effect, but the situation in Hormuz remains volatile, with Washington hindering the Islamic Republic’s shipments and Tehran boarding merchant ships to reassert its control of the maritime passage through which 20% of the world’s crude oil transits and which it keeps closed.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any vessel, no matter how small (its 159 warships are sunk at the bottom of the sea!), that places mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There must be no hesitation whatsoever. Furthermore, our minesweepers are clearing the Strait at this very moment. I hereby order this activity to continue, but at three times the intensity! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the White House occupant posted in his usual early morning publication, shortly after waking up, on the Truth Social network he himself created.
In addition to the warning, the US Navy forced the large crude oil transport vessels Hedy and Hero II to be anchored in Chabahar, an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman, after being previously intercepted this week, US Central Command said on X. The analytics firm Vortexa had previously indicated that the vessels had moved towards the Arabian Sea, testing a US blockade that began early last week.
The blockade enforcement actions suggest that a minimal amount of oil is now reaching global markets through the world’s most important oil channel. This is because, until the US blockade began, Iran had been the only country sending significant volumes through that route during the war.
On Wednesday, Tehran reminded the world of its ability to deter vessels attempting to navigate the Strait, attacking at least three of them and diverting two into its waters.
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Transit through the maritime route remained at a fraction of usual peacetime levels early Thursday, deepening a loss of oil supply that already extends to hundreds of millions of barrels.
The oil market already faces a guaranteed supply loss of around 1 billion barrels — partly due to the time it would take to reactivate flows once the Strait reopens — said Russell Hardy, CEO of major oil trader Vitol Group, at the FT Commodities Global summit in Lausanne this week.
Central Command indicated in its post on X that, in addition to Hedy and Hero II, another tanker —the Dorena— has been under escort by a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean after previously attempting to violate the cordon.
The US blockade targets Iranian maritime activity and includes enforcement actions in an area outside the Persian Gulf.
Tankertrackers.com, which has monitored Iranian oil flows for years using satellite imagery, said on X on Wednesday that it has observed six tankers that have somehow been intercepted by the United States.
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