Hormuz attacks speed up as Qatar says U.S.-Iran talks go on
Oman's air force flew injured sailors off the tanker On Peace after it was hit in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. A U.K. maritime agency has logged nine attacks in the waterway this month. Qatar says messages between the U.S. and Iran are still moving, but there is no deal to reopen the strait.
Ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz are coming faster, even as talks to end the war drag on.
On Tuesday, a projectile struck the Panama-flagged oil tanker On Peace about 9 nautical miles off the Omani port of Limah, Oman's defense ministry said. The hit started a fire. Oman's air force flew 10 crew members to a hospital in Khasab. India's foreign ministry said 12 of the 19 sailors were hurt. Seventeen of the crew were Indian, including 11 of the injured. No group has claimed the attack, Al Jazeera reported.
The pace of attacks is rising. U.K. Maritime Trade Operations has logged nine attacks in the waterway so far in October, Bloomberg reported. That is already half of its total for all of September. Shipping firm Marisks counted at least seven other tanker incidents in the past week.
The strait is one of the world's most important oil routes, and Iran mostly shut it after the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb. 28. Since then, Iran has often fired on ships that don't use its chosen route. It has also said it wants ships to pay to pass.
Even so, oil is still flowing: data firm Kpler says Middle East crude exports hit 18.3 million barrels a day on Sept. 30, about the same as before the war. Prices remain high, though. Brent crude rose to $101.51 a barrel on Tuesday, up from $72.48 the day before the war began.
On the diplomatic side, nothing has changed much. Iran sent a seven-day plan to end the fighting and reopen the strait through mediators on Sept. 22. The U.S. answered with its own proposal. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Iran has made its position clear through mediators. A Qatari official, Ibrahim Al-Hashmi, said Wednesday that talks continue. "The exchange of messages between different parties is continuing via Qatar and the regional partners," he said.
India has lost many sailors in this war. Its government said in July that at least 10 Indian seafarers had been killed since February.
What we know: More ships are being hit, and talks are still going through Qatar.
What we don't: Who fired on the On Peace, and whether Iran will accept any U.S. terms.
Where outlets agree Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye both report that the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran remains unresolved while attacks and indirect talks continue.
Where they differ Bloomberg says Iran has stepped up the attacks, but Al Jazeera notes that no group has claimed the strike on the On Peace.