KABUL (Pajhwok): Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the United States sank five Iranian oil tankers, marking the biggest escalation in attacks on shipping since the start of the six-month-old war.
The attacks pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time since July. At least one seafarer was killed and another reported missing, Reuters reported.
Iran also said it fired ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan. Jordan said it intercepted 18 missiles, while two fell harmlessly in unpopulated areas. A US official said all American troops were safe.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned it would sharply escalate its response to further attacks and said it would soon announce a larger maritime exclusion zone extending as far as Chabahar, near Pakistan.
The US military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers overnight in response to Iranian attacks on a US Navy warship. Washington said it had targeted 10 Iranian tankers over the past week.
Iran said it attacked two US ships and eight tankers in retaliation.
One seafarer was killed aboard the oil-products tanker Hercules Star off Dubai, while another crew member remained missing, its charterer said.
Maritime authorities also reported several merchant vessels being struck or damaged in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman. A tanker carrying about two million barrels of fuel oil caught fire after reportedly being hit by a drone in Iraqi waters, but no casualties were reported among its 22 crew members.
The escalation has raised fresh concerns over shipping and global energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for international oil and gas shipments.
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