Iran Expands Strait of Hormuz Surveillance as Attacks Surge and Oil Flows Fall
Iran has deployed new naval units east of the Strait of Hormuz and across the Sea of Oman and Arabian Sea to monitor maritime traffic in real time. It warned ships to keep transponders active and coordinate with Iranian forces, while an Iranian official said Tehran had adopted faster and different attacks against vessels accused of violating its restrictions.
The escalation is the worst since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. Kpler recorded 11 tanker strikes from September 28 to October 5, while the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre logged another 15 attacks between October 6 and 14, including 11 in four days. A US-led maritime centre rates the threat to merchant shipping as “severe”, citing attacks, harassment, drone surveillance and radio challenges.
The violence has reversed September’s recovery in Gulf exports. Oil transit plunged from 20.8 million barrels on October 8 to 2.9 million on October 11, compared with a prewar daily average of 17.1 million. Brent crude reached $106.58 a barrel early Wednesday. Tehran says its actions are self-defence and has threatened a US-assisted shuttle system moving Gulf oil, while US Central Command insists American forces and regional partners—not Iran—control the strait. Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran’s demand that all seven of its conditions be met leave the strategic waterway at the centre of the military and diplomatic confrontation.
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