Key facts
- Iran attacked two vessels linked to UAE's ADNOC transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
- The U.S. conducted retaliatory strikes against Iranian missile and drone storage facilities.
- At least 17 commercial sailors have been killed in the region since March.
- Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has significantly slowed.
- The Houthis claimed an attack on Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery.
Commodity vessel traffic at the Strait of Hormuz has further slowed as operators avoid the area amid heightened security concerns and uncertainties about Iran's control. Ship-tracking data showed only six commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, down from nine on Monday and below the 10-day average of 11. The U.S. Administration insists the Strait of Hormuz remains open, but Iran maintains it is closed. The security situation worsened after a cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed it received a report of an incident. Crude oil prices extended gains for the fourth day amid harder rhetoric from both Iran and the United States. At least 17 commercial sailors have been killed in and around Iranian and Omani waters since March. Two vessels, including the Namu, are currently stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Yemen’s Houthis claimed they targeted Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery with two drones on Thursday, the second claimed attack on the facility in less than a week. Bloomberg cited a person familiar with the incident as saying a storage tank sustained negligible damage. The U.S. says it can blockade Iran indefinitely, but the strain is already tangible, with the USS George Washington heading to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln after more than 250 days of deployment.