Iran claimed Friday that a supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of oil and two other fuel vessels exploded after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the supertanker caught fire after hitting a naval mine while traveling along an “unauthorized” route through the strategically important waterway.
The incident marked the third fuel tanker to reportedly hit a mine in the strait that day while using what Iranian authorities called an illegal route. The Guard’s navy said the other two vessels exploded after turning off their navigation signals and disregarding repeated radio warnings.
Iran did not identify the vessels, disclose their countries of origin or provide information about the crews’ fate. It also did not say who had placed the mines.
The claims about the damaged tankers could not be independently verified. The United States said it had cleared all internationally recognized primary transit routes through the strait of mines.
The reported incidents came as Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a drone near Mecca launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis denied that the drone had come close to Islam’s holiest site.
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Oil prices also surged Friday, reaching their highest levels since the end of April.
Prices could become even more volatile over the next several weeks amid Israel’s recent elections and the US midterm elections on Nov. 3, according to a Saxo Bank briefing issued in Singapore.
Although prices remain difficult to predict, crude is expected to trade in a higher range of $70 to $90 a barrel even after the conflict ends, compared with a prewar range of $60 to $70, Saxo Bank said.
“Continued kinetic action around the Strait of Hormuz amidst doubts of a viable diplomatic pathway is keeping oil prices elevated in expectation of an escalation of the conflict in coming weeks,” Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Marquee, told Reuters.
With Post Wires
