Iran says 7 tankers damaged in Strait of Hormuz, and other Mideast news
Iran's state television reported on Thursday that seven oil tankers were either struck by attacks or hit naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, possibly the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the Iran war started on Feb. 28.
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Iran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers either caught fire or were damaged by mines overnight Wednesday into Thursday after being targeted or striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
If verified, it would be the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran.
Quoting a statement by the Revolutionary Guard's navy, the Iranian report said four of the tankers were transferring oil when they were targeted and caught fire. Three more were damaged and immobilized after hitting naval mines. The report didn't provide details about possible casualties or the tankers' flags.
Shipping data and analysis company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said Thursday that tanker operators willing to risk the voyage have been transporting oil from Gulf producers through the strait at night, using a U.S. military-protected lane near Oman’s coast with their location systems and mobile phones switched off.
The oil is then transferred to other tankers waiting in the Gulf of Oman for shipment to customers in Asia.
The president of Saudi oil company Aramco, whose sites have been targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, says the amount of oil moving through a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz has more than tripled.
The East-West pipeline’s capacity has surged from 2 million to 7 million barrels each day, President and CEO Amin Nasser said in an interview with Saudi-owned television Al Arabiya Business.
Built in the early 1980s, the pipeline played a crucial role in Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil following the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war.
Nasser said the company has used drones to assess damage caused by oilfield attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels and to help with firefighting.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Egypt has a vital role to play in resolving the Middle East crisis, citing its “defense of the rights of the Palestinian people” and its mediation efforts in the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Guterres, who is due to arrive in Egypt on Friday, said he would also discuss the war in neighboring Sudan, the situation in Libya and hostilities in Yemen, including the siege of Taiz and Houthi rebel attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia. He called those attacks “totally unacceptable.”
Yemen’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that rallies and mobilization programs by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels will be considered legitimate military targets and warned residents in Houthi-held areas against taking part.
The announcement on social media is considered a major escalation against the Houthis and civilians living in areas under their control. Pro-Houthi rallies are regularly staged on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer.
Deliberate attacks on civilians could be a war crime.
Rallies and what Houthis call “cultural courses” are one of the Iranian-backed group’s main tools to mobilize supporters and fighters. The Defense Ministry said Houthis are also mobilizing children for combat.
Saudi Arabia's Civil Aviation Authority said Thursday that the number of people killed in an attack the night before on the King Fahd International Airport has risen to two — a Saudi citizen and an Indian national living in the kingdom. Another eight people suffered injuries in the attack, which occurred late on Wednesday, the statement said.
Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted Thursday on Telegram.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree also claimed the Houthis targeted an Aramco facility in Yanbu that ignited a fire, as well as the Saudi Defense Ministry in Riyadh. Saree didn't provide any evidence for the ministry strike.
King Fahd Airport in the country's east near Bahrain and Qatar has been attacked previously amid a wider wave of Houthi missile and projectile strikes targeting major Saudi airports.
At least four people were killed and several others wounded Thursday in Israeli strikes and gunfire in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said.
One person was killed when a car was struck in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital. Another was killed and others wounded in a strike on a gathering in a street in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military said those strikes targeted Hamas militants.
A woman was also killed by Israeli military fire in the northern city of Jabaliya, Shifa Hospital said. And an Israeli strike that hit a refugee camp in Nuseirat, in the central region, killed one person, according to the Awda Hospital.
The Israeli military said it was not immediately aware of the Jabaliya incident and did not immediately comment on the strike that hit the refugee camp.
Iran’s state television on Thursday showed dozens of military drones it claimed are more powerful and more sophisticated than previous iterations.
The report showed the drones in an underground location, adding that a new version of the “Arash” drone now has a 100 kg (220-pound) warhead — twice as powerful as before.
Iran has "reached a significant level of maturity in the field of drones and unmanned systems in general,” Iranian Army Chief Gen. Amir Hatami was cited by state television’s website as saying. He said that more drones will be unveiled in the future.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
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