ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz near Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Sunday, amid ongoing US-Iran tensions and disruptions to commercial shipping in the strategic waterway.
UKMTO said it received a delayed report of the incident, which occurred about 12 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman on August 29 in which a tanker “was struck by an unknown projectile whilst transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“No casualties or environmental impact are reported at this time,” it added, noting that authorities are investigating the incident.
The incident comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route, amid an effective Iranian blockade that has disrupted commercial traffic since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran in late February.
A US naval blockade of Iranian ports has also been in effect since mid-July, while Tehran continues to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and has required some commercial vessels to obtain authorization to pass through the waterway.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday that its forces had taken action against commercial vessels navigating the area.
“As of Aug. 28, CENTCOM forces have redirected 82 commercial vessels, disabled 3 and boarded 2 to ensure compliance,” the command said.
The latest tanker incident also comes amid renewed US economic pressure on Iran.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Monday targeting nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels across multiple jurisdictions as part of what it called Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at cutting off Iranian oil revenues and networks accused of helping Tehran evade sanctions.
The measures targeted companies and vessels involved in Iran’s petroleum sector and its “shadow fleet,” which Washington says transports Iranian crude and petroleum products and channels revenues to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and other Iranian state-linked entities.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also warned that Washington could escalate militarily if necessary.
“If we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them,” Hegseth said Monday. “If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we’ll do what we need to do… but economic pressure, we know, hurts them the most right now.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the campaign as an effort to achieve the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, saying its goal was to “sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected the new sanctions on Wednesday, saying they “will not achieve anything.”
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, carrying a major share of global oil shipments. Continued attacks and restrictions in the waterway have raised concerns over the safety of commercial vessels and the security of global energy supplies.
