Iran claims it struck oil tanker Trend in Strait of Hormuz as blockade persists
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Friday that it had struck and detained the Togo-flagged oil tanker Trend as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, citing a fire that broke out on the vessel during what Tehran characterized as an illegal passage. The incident reflects Iran's ongoing blockade of this critical waterway, which has been in place since the United States and Israel conducted military strikes against Iran in late February. The continued attacks underscore mounting tensions affecting global energy markets in an already volatile geopolitical situation.
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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Friday it had struck and detained the oil tanker Trend, sailing under the Togolese flag, as it attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the state news agency IRNA. The Guards' statement indicated that the tanker had been targeted after a fire broke out on board during what Tehran described as an attempted illegal passage through the waterway.
Tehran has maintained an effective blockade of the strait since the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February, with the Islamic Republic seeking to impose tolls on vessels transiting the route and attacking ships it accuses of trying to bypass its preferred passage. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency had separately announced on Thursday a security incident 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, though it did not specify whether this concerned the same vessel named by the Revolutionary Guards.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints, and continued attacks there add to pressure on global energy markets already strained by the wider naval blockade of Iranian ports imposed by the United States.
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