US attacks oil tanker in strait of Hormuz as strikes reported in Tehran

A US Navy handout photo shows a US sailor aboard a missile destroyer as the naval blockade against Iran in the strait of Hormuz is reimposed. Photograph: US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A US Navy handout photo shows a US sailor aboard a missile destroyer as the naval blockade against Iran in the strait of Hormuz is reimposed. Photograph: US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images US attacks oil tanker in strait of Hormuz as strikes reported in Tehran US disables unladen oil tanker using Hellfire missiles in strait of Hormuz amid concerns strikes could spiral into open conflict The US has fired on an oil tanker attempting to reach Kharg Island in the strait of Hormuz as part of its blockade on Iranian ports, as Tehran came under attack for the first time in this latest round of strikes. The US said on Thursday morning it had disabled an unladen oil tanker, during a fifth day of strikes, firing Hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack after it ignored multiple warnings. On Wednesday evening, the US targeted coastal defences and missile sites, hours after a separate round of strikes that hit cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran’s Greater Tunb Island in the morning. The US also hit targets further north, with state media reporting strikes on the country’s capital, Tehran, and reports of air defences being heard throughout the city early on Thursday. Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties. Iranian officials say the recent days of US strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded more than 300 others. The escalating waves of attacks come days after the ceasefire between the two sides appeared to have entirely collapsed, with fears of a return ⁠to full-scale war. Chaos and confusion bring US no closer to resolution on strait of Hormuz Read more The US military central command said late on Wednesday that the latest round of strikes were targeting Iranian military capabilities “used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the strait of Hormuz, an international waterway vital to global commerce.” Iranian media said four locations around the city of Ahvaz had come, along with Bandar Abbas, the principal port city on the strait of Hormuz. Missiles also hit near Sirik and Qeshm in southern Iran. The tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran have intensified since Tehran said it was closing the strait on Saturday, once again imperilling the movement of maritime traffic through the vital waterway which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas supplies before the war. The US on Wednesday reimposed its naval blockade on Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) responded by threatening to halt all energy exports from the Middle East , saying “regional energy exports are either shared by all or denied to all.” Oil prices have continued to tick up higher throughout the latest waves of escalation, with the price for Brent crude oil, the international stand