Authorities noted that three more foreign ships have been struck in the Persian Gulf overnight.
This includes a container ship that was struck by an unknown projectile about 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali, a major port city near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and two foreign oil tankers were left ablaze in Iraqi waters. At least one person was killed in the attack according to media reports citing Iraqi port officials. 38 crew members were rescued from the ships.
This incident comes after three separate vessels saw damage in Gulf waters on Wednesday.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has virtually come to a halt since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Iran has retaliated by targeting ships trying to pass through the strait, with several incidents reported in recent days.
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The strait is an important maritime corridor that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 20% of global oil and gas typically passes through it. Attacks on the commercial ships passing through has raised concerns of an economic shock around the world.
“Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security, which you have destabilized,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s military command, said Wednesday, according to Reuters.
Amin Nasser, the CEO of Saudi oil giant Aramco has previously said there would be “catastrophic consequences” for the world’s oil market. “The longer the disruption goes on and the more drastic the consequences for the global economy,” Nasser added.
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Oil prices traded sharply higher on Thursday, shortly after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy.” Mojtaba is the son of the former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed by the U.S. and Israel in opening strikes of the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei also said that all U.S. military bases in the Middle East should close immediately as those bases will be attacked.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its members’ strategic reserves in an attempt to counter the rise in energy prices. The proposed release is larger than the 182 million barrels of oil that IEA member countries released in 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.