Iran Claims to Have Attacked Four Vessels in the Arabian Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have attacked four vessels in the northern Arabian Gulf that, according to its statement, were carrying out a ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer. One of the attacks targeted a Greek-managed tanker off the coast of Iraq, and IRGC naval forces noted that fires were still burning on the vessels that were struck.

According to the IRGC statement, the four vessels had been detected transferring crude oil between one another and were attacked simultaneously for sailing along unauthorized routes. English-language trade news sources specified that the attack on the Greek-managed tanker, which occurred two days earlier, was part of a broader operation involving three other vessels in the area.

The IRGC accused the United States of encouraging vessels to cross a sea lane seeded with mines, which it said was driving an increase in maritime incidents. The statement warned Washington that, should the United States continue with this approach, the scope of Iran's response would also extend to U.S. bases in the region.

On February 28, the United States and Israel had launched a war against Iran, which responded with attacks on Israel and on U.S. positions in regional nations before reaching a ceasefire in April. Subsequently, the United States launched strikes against targets in Iran amid stalled negotiations between the two countries, despite having signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June. Iran had announced on July 12 that it once again closed the Strait of Hormuz following the resumption of U.S. strikes on July 8.