Reuters
Source: Reuters
Despite market bets on a de-escalation in the Iran war, new evidence has emerged in recent days of strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and on energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, crude prices hit two-month lows after US officials downplayed the need for additional military action against Iran, with analysts noting President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory tone since the Republicans’ defeat in the November 3 midterm elections.
However, there is little sign of attacks abating in November, after 37 ships were attacked in October, the highest monthly total since the start of the war, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Videos posted on social media on Sunday and verified by Reuters showed a Navig8 tanker on fire near the coast of Oman. An image captured by the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Sunday showed a large cloud of black smoke at the same location.
It was one of three tankers hit on Sunday for using “unauthorised routes” through the strait, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.
